The New Era of Remnant

Chapter 7: Song of Independence! RWBY VS. FNKI!

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"Hey, did you hear…?"

"Someone wrecked the arena. Can you believe that?"

"Who could have done it?"

"I heard that it's closed for a month due to the extensive damage…"

As the cafeteria buzzed with the topic, teams RWBY and JNPR are sweating bullets as they ate their breakfast. Word had spread about the damage done to the arena earlier this morning. It spread so fast that by the time breakfast rolled around, everyone at the school knows. Word also spread of Glynda Goodwitch interrogating students to find out who had wrecked the arena.

"Lucky you built that Glynda detector," Jaune whispered to Ruby. "How did you come up with it anyway?"

"I developed it when I was helping Franky set up security for our food storage," Ruby whispered back. "Before you ask, let's just say that our captain tends to raid the food whenever he likes."

"What she means is that our captain is a pig," Weiss bluntly corrected. "We would always be out of food before we reach the next island. If it weren't for Franky and Ruby, we would have to tie our captain to the mast every night."

"Speaking of food," Blake interrupted as she pokes her tray for emphasis. "We should probably finish breakfast so our representatives can prepare for their match."

"Oh yeah," Yang said before digging into her food. "We are the second team for the day, aren't we?

The students resumed eating their breakfast, which is mostly composed of eggs and ham. For some reason, they were green. Team RWBY missed Sanji's dishes, but the food is food. Plus, they knew he hated food going to waste. They heard he once beat up a customer back at the restaurant he once worked at because he wasted food.

"So, Jaune began. "Who's going to be fighting?"

"We decided on Yang and Weiss," Blake said. "I and Ruby are going to sit this one out."

"How come?" Nora asked. "With your devil fruit powers, you could easily steamroll the competition."

"We intend on toning down our power," Yang said. She held up a finger at Nora. "Before you say, 'Ruby didn't tone hers down', you have yet to see the havoc she could unleash. We are trying to avoid drawing more attention than we already have. As for steamrolling, that's an overstatement. While we managed to copy some of the techniques of CP9, only one of us is capable of using them at the moment."

"You?" Jaune asked to which Yang nodded. "Why?"

"Because my devil fruit lets me cheat whatever intense training that CP9 went. I can only use some of them at half strength in my human form, but in my man-beast form…you'd better watch out."

Jaune gulped at Yang's predatory growl. "But I figured you all could use them?"

"We said developed, not personal use," Weiss said. "Turns out that we couldn't keep up with that ridiculous training regimen that Yang set up. So, we decided to play to our strengths. Plus, I'm hoping to practice some advice I got from the world's next greatest swordsman."

"Roronoa Zoro?" Pyrrha asked. "What was his advice?"

"He told me that to cut through anything, I have to first learn not to cut through anything."

This was met with silence.

"Right…" Ren said. He turned to Blake. "So why not you and Ruby?"

"Despite what you think about my devil fruit, it does have its limits," Blake said as she grips her head. "I have to read the characters every action to make them move, like in the story. Plus, the more I know about them, the more lifelike they will be. If I manifest two characters at the same time, it will give me a splitting headache micromanaging them…"

Blake continued mumbling about the long complications that her devil fruit brought to her. Her voice became so low that they could barely make it out. JNPR couldn't help but feel sorry for the poor girl. Yang cleared her throat.

"Long story short? Blakes abilities gave her a headache and it's easy if she used books already written. Not the joke kind."

"Aaah," JNPR nodded in understanding. They turned to Ruby.

"For me, I just want to work on personal projects," Ruby said. "Before you ask, no I am not going to tell you. Let's just say that it might revolutionize the huntsmen and our fight against the Grimm."

"That sounds cool," Jaune said. "We've seen your works last night and I know they would be awesome. I bet Atlas would pay good money for those devices."

Rather than feel elated by Jaune's praise, Ruby's face became a frown. Setting her utensils down, she stood up.

"I just remembered, I got something to do," Ruby said. Finally, she walked away from their table, leaving her food unfinished. JNPR looked confused at her abrupt leave while the rest of team RWBY glared at Jaune. Even Yang is giving the blonde boy the evil eye.

"What?"

"Jaune, we've spent a good chunk of our lives being chased by a bunch of jackasses called marines run by even more corrupted jackasses," Yang snarled, bringing the boy to a flinch. "The last thing we need is another bunch of jackasses running around."

Yang slammed her hands on the table and stood up.

"I'm going to go see Ruby," Yang said. "I need to pick up my weapons anyway for the match."

With that, she walked away, a little anger in her steps. This left Weiss and Blake alone to glare daggers at Jaune.

"What did I say?" Jaune repeated.

"Jaune, let's just say from experience that between the World Government and Atlas, there's little difference," Weiss said as she angrily chomped on her ham. "Take it from someone who has Jacques Schnee as a father."

"You just need to tip General Ironwood in the right direction," Blake said. "I mean, he has a fleet of ships hovering right over us."

"But it's for the security of the festival," Pyrrha said, trying to defend her leader and General Ironwood somewhat. "With the White Fang running around and after the breach, he just wants us to feel safe."

"Feeling safe isn't the same as being safe," Weiss said with slight distaste. "Besides, he could've just brought some extra soldiers. Nobody asked him to have those ships over our heads. Too much can go wrong."

"Pyrrha, we've been doing some research on General Ironwood," Blake said. "While his record indicates good results, his methods are questionable. For example, did you know that he once obliterated an entire village because of rumors of a 'mood bomb'?"

"What's a mood bomb?" Nora asked.

"To sum it up," Weiss said. "It's when negative emotions flare up and attract the nearby Grimm, causing them to charge towards and destroy the village. Take the panic during the Breach for example."

JNPR paled at that. The Breach happened in the city a while back. The resulting panic drew the attention of Grimm. If it weren't for Ironwood's military, they would've been overwhelmed.

"That's not all," Blake continued. "You should know about when he reacted to a bomb threat in Mantle. He publicly announced it and the panic drew Grimm over. Three Atlesian soldiers died as a result. He said their sacrifice wouldn't be forgotten."

Blake hissed the last part.

"We've got a list if you want to read more," Weiss said as she took out a sheet of paper. With a flick, more pages fell to the ground, taped together at the ends. JNPR's eyes followed the length as it piled up.

"Trust me," Weiss said. "It's a long one."

"Isn't this a violation of privacy?" Ren asked to which Weiss scoffed.

"We're pirates, remember. We don't play by the rules."

Weiss folded up the list and handed it to them.

"Having good intentions and changing your moral compass are two different things," Weiss said with finality. "If you excuse me, I too must get ready for my match."

Weiss left the table, leaving Blake alone with JNPR. Blake silently returned to her meal, leaving JNPR to ruminate among themselves.

The sparks finally ceased as Ruby disassembled two of her inventions.

She sat in the attic of the school dormitory. After coming back to Beacon, she turned it into her makeshift lab/workshop. Hardly anybody goes u here, so it's perfect to conduct her projects without any disturbance. If one did come over, they are in for a nasty surprise.

A knock sounded at the door.

"Password?" A robotic version of her voice spoke.

"Firecracker," Ruby heard her sister's voice. The door buzzed open and Yang ascended the steps. Her eyes looked around the room.

"Where's the nasty surprise?" Yang asked. "You know, the one you set up in case that wasn't me who said that?"

"You don't want to find out," Ruby said with a mock tone of animosity. She didn't look up from her worktable. "Plus, the door recognizes your voice when you use that password. Even if someone managed to guess it, they will end up getting the nasty surprise."

"Fair point," Yang conceded. She looked over at the disassembled pieces of tech. "So, I take it you dismantled them?"

Ruby sighed in sadness as she scooped the parts into a plastic bin. "Yeah. I'm not happy about it, but I feel it's for the best. I built this so I can make the fight against the Grimm so much easier. While the aura recharge has potential, I don't want it to be abused for some kind of twisted justice or some so-called greater good."

"Don't worry Ruby," Yang assured her with a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure the world will be ready for your inventions one day. All it needs is the right time and the right people. Till then, try to take it slow."

"I know," Ruby smiled. "Thanks, Yang."

"No problem sis," Yang said with a smile of her own. "By the way, did you finish modifying my weapons?"

"Yeah," Ruby nodded. She reached to her left and picked up a box. "Finished it up this morning. I hope you are satisfied with it."

She handed it to Yang and her sister opened it. Inside is Ember Celica, but with a major change. Right where there were fingerless gloves are yellow claws. The tips looked razor-sharp like it could tear a Grimm limb from limb.

"This is great!" Yang grinned. "I'll be able to incorporate this into my new fighting style. What else can it do?"

"For starters, the claws gain an elemental effect depending on the dust you use," Ruby explained. "You can change the type via voice activation, the same can be said for their shotgun configuration. Just make sure you add the appropriate amount of dust beforehand."

"Noted," Yang said as she tried on her new gauntlets. Then, there is another knock on the door and the robotic voice.

"Password?"

"Snowflake," Weiss muttered, and she is buzzed in. She ascended the steps into Ruby's workshop. "You do realize this is technically school property?"

"I don't see anybody complaining about it," Ruby said with a shrug. "I take it you've come to get your weapon?"

"Yeah, "Weiss nodded as she came to the table. "Do you have it?"

"Yep, everything you asked for," Ruby said as she passed over a box containing Myrtenaster. "Though why would you need a—"

"You'll see," Weiss interrupted before opening the box and examining her modified weapon. "So, what can I expect?"

"Nothing much. Just that it consumes less dust than it usually does when you use it with your Glyphs. Other than your request, that's all it has."

"It'll do," Weiss said as she holstered her weapon. She turned to Yang, who has just set her claws on fire. "Come on Yang, let's get to the arena."

"Yang!" Ruby protested when she registered what she is doing. "Don't do that in my lab! You could easily set the entire place on fire!"

"Don't worry Ruby," Yang assured her. "I'm not going to—ARG!"

Yang found herself being sprayed by water. It persisted for several seconds before it stopped. Yang is dripping wet and the fire on Ember Celica has been put out. Ruby held a gun with glowing blue outlines, with the front end of the barrel dripping with water.

"What the heck!" Yang shouted with her eyes red. "You got my hair wet! AGAIN!"

"I'm not taking any chances, Yang!" Ruby argued back with a glare of her own. "You already burned down my lab not once. Not Twice. But almost THREE times! I'm not taking any more chances! You either start your fires at least fifty feet away from my lab or you're getting doused!"

The sisters kept glaring at each other in a silent standoff. With a grumble, Yang pivoted on her heel and stormed out of the laboratory.

"I can't decide if that was better or worse than the fire extinguisher you made back at the Grand Line," Weiss sighed.

"You have to admit, that was pretty funny," Ruby said as she turned to another worktable with bits of machinery. "I'll be watching your match on a live screen. You won't have to worry about giving me the play by play."

"Thank you," Weiss nodded. Her eyes scanned the table. "I hope it works. Whatever it is you are working on."

"I hope so too Weiss," Ruby said as Weiss walks out of the lab. "I hope so too…"

Taking a deep breath, Ruby reached into a bin and pulled out a red dust crystal. She placed it on the table and placed a hand on the bin of machinery. Red sparks flowed before she stopped when she realized something.

"Oh yeah, I should probably tell her!"

"And victory goes to Penny and Ciel of Atlas!"

Penny Polendina and Ciel Soleil stood before the defeated Russel Thrush and Sky Lark. Penny took a moment to place a fist in her palm and bowing in respect, still smiling.

"Thank you for a wonderful time."

The two victors turn to leave the stadium, not noticing Russel reaching out. An errant stone hit him in the head. As they made their way to the exit, something buzzed in Ciel's pocket. Frowning, she pulled out her scroll and looked at the caller id. The number is blocked. She was about to hang up before her phone somehow answered itself.

"Hello! Ciel Soleil I assume? Could you please do me a favor and put Penny on the scroll?"

Penny's eyes widened when she recognizes her friend's voice. Before she could ask, Ciel coldly spoke to her.

"Who is this?" Ciel demanded.

"I'm Ruby Rose," Ruby cheerfully replied. "You may have heard of me from Penny?"

"Ruby Rose. 15. Hails from Patch. Leader of Team RWBY. Status: Questionable leaning towards suspicion."

"Okay, so you have heard of me," Ruby said without a care. "As much as I would like to chat with you, I'd appreciate it if you could put Penny on the line."

"Why would I—?"

"YOU PUT PENNY ON THE SCROLL OR I WILL POST PICTURES OF YOU HUGGING TEDDY BEARS ALL OVER THE CCT!"

A mortified look crossed over Ciel's face. Slowly, she handed Penny her scroll and the robot girl energetically took it and pressed it to her ear.

"Ruby, I am so glad to hear from you!" Penny cheered.

"Same to you Penny!" Ruby said. "I was watching your match. How do you keep control of those swords? I'm dying to know."

Penny looked over to Ciel, who made a motion with her hand for her scroll. "Could we just have a minute to talk?"

Ciel held up one finger, signaling one minute. Then she took a step back. The look of pale shock didn't leave her face.

"Is it Ciel again?" Ruby asked. "Is she your friend?"

"Well, in a way," Penny admitted. "She's like Blake, but if Blake was ordered to spend time with you."

"Oh. So, Weiss," Ruby surmised. "You know, I could just threaten her with the pictures again."

"That's not necessary Ruby," Penny shook her head. She leaned into the scroll and whispered. "I have to tell you something important. I want to stay at Beacon."

Penny could hear her surprise through the scroll. "That's great Penny! If you have a plan, I will gladly help. I have a surprise waiting for you when I'm finished! Trust me, you'll love it!"

"Really?" Penny asked in curiosity. She was about to ask when Ciel cleared her throat.

"It's been precisely one minute, ma'am."

"I'll talk to you more soon, Ruby," Penny said. "Bye."

She hanged up and gave the scroll back to Ciel. As they continued walking out of the stadium, Ciel was moving some pictures to the trash can.

"Well, now it's our turn!" Yang said as she and Weiss stood in the center of the field with Weiss at her side.

"Just remember to keep proper form," Weiss said.

"Alright," Yang chuckled. "You're from Atlas. What could we expect?"

"Well," Weiss began as Yang begins to loosen up her legs and arms. "Well, seeing as their Kingdom, academy, and armed forces are all merged as one, I think we can expect strict, militant fighters with advanced technology and carefully rehearsed strategies."

At that moment, a rainbow zoomed past them, taking them by surprise. The rainbow came to a stop opposite of them, revealing a pigtailed Faunus girl with a cattail swishing around her weapon next to a young man wearing a fedora and sunglasses, holding a trumpet in one hand.

Weiss is the first to recover from their open mouth shock. "Or whatever they are."

"Hey!" The young man called out. Flynt Coal, if she is correct. "You Weiss Schnee, right? The heiress."

Weiss bowed her head and smiled at the recognition. "I am."

"I take it you're pretty good with Dust, then?" Flynt asked.

"I do my best," Weiss gave a humble shrug.

"Yeah, my dad was good too. Owned a little Dust shop of his own," Flynt nods his head, eyes hidden behind his shades. His smile turned into a scowl, and his tone turned hostile. "Till your father's company ran him out of business."

"Oh," Weiss said, her smile fading. A look of understanding crossing her face. "So that's what this was about…"

"You got that right," Flynt spat.

Yang held a finger. "Dude, you need to—"

"Dude, you need to!" The girl said in unflattering imitation and points at Yang. Neon Katt was her name. "That's what you sound like!"

"Huh?"

"Hey! Where'd you get your hair extensions?"

"This is just my normal hair," Yang said in confusion.

"Ooh, really?"

Yang arched an eyebrow at her. "Yes?"

"You should try rollerblading sometime! It's super fun!" Neon said as she spun in place and continues talking. "It'd probably take you a while, though, since you're so…you know, top-heavy."

Rather than get upset at the insults, Yang and Weiss looked at each other. Who picked these numbskulls as their opponents?

Ruby was watching the entire thing. She shook her head at the insults that the members' team FNKI was giving her teammates. Paying it no heed, she returned to her work. Ruby knew that they are above that.

On the screen in front of her, she heard Professor Port begin the countdown.

She knew that isn't a battle worth fighting about.

"What could be taking them so long?" Weiss asked as she and her teammates walked around Mock Town. It is a port town of the island Jaya. Despite looking like a resort, it is inhabited mostly by pirates. Pirates who dwell here tend to judge people's skill and power based on their assigned bounties. The higher they are, the more respected they are by the citizens. They stopped here to find information on Sky Island. Luffy, Zoro, and Nami head off to find information, but they haven't been back yet. They got worried so they left to go find them.

"I'm sure they're alright," Yang said. "You are talking about our captain after all."

"I'm more anxious to go," Blake said as she looked at the people around them. She caught some of them looking at the students of beacon. "I'd rather not pick a fight."

"Hey, I think I see Nami," Ruby called out. "She's coming towards us and…"

Ruby stopped talking. Suddenly, she rushed forwards, petals of her semblance trailing after her. The other three looked at each other and rushed after her.

"Ruby, what's wrong?" Yang asked as she finally stopped. Yang looked at Nami. "Nami, what's—what the hell happened to them?"

The huntresses-in-training looked in open mouth shock at what Nami is dragging behind her. In her hands are Zoro and Luffy, all bloodied up and bruised. They didn't appear to be moving.

"Luffy! Zoro!" Ruby cried as she knelt beside them. "What happened to you?"

"I'll tell you what happened," Nami growled as she dropped them. "Some jerk named Bellamy attempted to pick a fight with us. When they refused, he attacked them anyway. What's more, these idiots didn't even try to fight back."

"What?!" Yang shouted, her eyes turning red. "Where are those guys? I'll beat them into a pulp."

"Yang…" Everyone looked down at Luffy, still lying face down. "Don't bother trying to fight them."

"What?!"

"Yang I am ordering you as your captain to not fight them," Luffy said sternly.

"But they—"

"Yang, your captain has spoken," Zoro said in a tone of steel. "You will not fight those guys. Period."

"Easy for you to say," Nami snapped. "You guys got beaten half to death and we didn't learn anything about Sky island. Heck, it might not even exist."

"The sky island does exist."

Everyone turned to see a large man sitting cross-legged in front of them. He has a massive build with relatively thin limbs. He has a big mouth with several missing teeth, a crooked nose, and a very large and hairy chest and torso. Long, thick, woolly black hair falls down the back of his neck, underneath a black bandana, and a small scruffy black beard grows around his jawline. He wore an open buttoned white shirt with rolled-up sleeves, green trousers with black line patterns, a yellow sash around his waist, and black boots complete with bronze buckles.

The man was eating a cherry pie. After a few smacks, the man laughed.

"Zehahahaha! That place does make a good cherry pie!"

"Got something you want to say?" Nami asked angrily.

"Now what could you possibly be angry about?" The man asked them. "Your two friends won that fight without even throwing a punch."

"Huh?" That took the Strawhats by surprise.

"What do you mean?" Weiss asked. "These two just let some brutes beat them up! How did they win?"

Rather than answer her, he addressed Nami. "I respected the way you treated them back there. You got nerves of steel lady. Zehahahaha!"

At that moment, Zoro and Luffy finally got back up. Rather than behave like being injured, the two men patted themselves down without a problem. Even Luffy simply puts his straw hat back on.

"This new era they keep rambling on and on about is a load of crap," The man continued. Then he spread his arms to the sky, a bottle of rum in one hand. "The era when pirates dream of treasure will come to an end? Yeah right! ZEHAHAHAHAHA!"

This drew the attention of a few onlookers. One of them asked what he was talking about. The man then slammed his bottle of rum onto the wooden ground.

"THE DREAM OF PIRATES…WILL NEVER END!" The man shouted. "Am I right?"

"For somebody shouting as loud as you are, you sure are talking nonsense."

"What are you talking about dreaming for?"

"One up in your beers isn't easy! ZEHAHAHAHA!"

Everybody was laughing except for the Straw hats.

"They can laugh at us all they want. Because when you aim high, you often come across fights that just aren't worth fighting. Right? ZEHAHAHAHAHA!"

"Let's go," Zoro said and he began walking away.

"Yeah," Nami said. She was about to walk away when she noticed Luffy not following. "Luffy."

"Hello. It looks like I interrupted you," The man said as he packed up his cherry pies in a bag and stood up. "Are you in a hurry kid?"

He turned away and right before he brought the bottle to his lips, he said. "One more thing. I hope you find your way to sky island."

As he walked away, laughing, team RWBY couldn't help but ruminate on his words.

In the arena, the field is divided into four sections. A volcanic area, sandy desert, steaming geysers, and ruined buildings.

"Three! Two! One! Begin!"

Right as it starts, Flynt raises his trumpet to his lips and blows, issuing forth a soundwave towards Weiss and Yang. They just stood there as the soundwave hits them, sending them flying into one of the buildings of the ruined city arena. They did nothing when they crashed into the walls of the ruined building. Dust kicked up, obscuring them from the view of the spectators. For a moment, everyone was silent.

"Huh…" Flynt commented. "That was easy."

Then, out of the dust, came Yang and Weiss. They are patting themselves down as they approached the center stage again. Deep inside her mind, she was glad that the dust blocked the spectators from seeing her breaking into a million glass pieces.

She wasn't sure if she cared about being seen like that or not.

They came to a stop. Right where they were previously. Once again, they stood there not moving. They didn't even bother to draw their weapons.

"Never miss a beat. Never miss a beat. Never miss a beat," Neon Katt said as she skated forward, twirling her glowing nunchaku. It glowed blue as she slammed one end into Yang's arm, encasing it in ice. She twirled it around and brought it on Weiss's arm. The girls still didn't even move a muscle as Neon went back to her previous position. The crowds earlier cheer had died down as if wondering why the girls aren't moving a muscle.

"What's the matter, chicken?" Neon asked. Weiss and Yang still didn't answer. "Cat got your tongue?"

Yang snorted a little at that. She flexed her arm, breaking it out of the ice. "Nope, we were just wondering if you two are done with your little temper tantrum."

"What?" Flynt asked in anger.

"Still not done yet, I see," Weiss sighed as she melted the ice with fire dust. "We'll break it down to you so you could understand. But first…"

Weiss looked at Yang, who nodded. Weiss held of Myrtenaster and spoke out a word.

"Rock."

"Rock." A female robotic voice spoke from Myrtenaster. The orange vial on Myrtenasters barrel glowed orange. With a glyph glowing underneath, her, she thrust Myrtenaster down through it. Around the two teams of FNKI, walls of earth erupted around them, trapping them within. The walls are too high to try climbing out. Well, for Flynn as Neon still wore her skates.

"There," Weiss said as she lowered her weapon. "That should keep you there for a while. Please stay there and keep quiet."

"You think this will hold us?" Flynt asked. "Once we get out of here—"

"You'll what? Fight us?" Yang asked. "Trust me, the last thing we would want to do is fight you guys. It would leave a bad taste in our mouth if we do. Not to mention it would disgrace us."

"However, these people came here today for a match," Weiss said. "It would be discourteous if we didn't put on a show for them. But it certainly won't be us fighting you two buffoons."

"What did you say?" Flynt demanded, but Weiss threw up another wall of rock, blocking them. For good measure, she threw up the second wall of rocks around the first one. She turned to Yang.

"Let's show them what this festival is supposed to be about," Weiss said. "And that poser of a musician."

"So, where do we start?" Yang asked. Weiss placed a finger to her chin and scanned the arena. She looked up to the sky.

"I'll set the stage," Weiss said. "Can you signal the others?"

Ruby was finished with ninety percent of her project when she heard the commentary on the screen.

"Miss Schnee has trapped Flynt and Neon, but rather than finish them, she's building something," Doctor Oobleck said over the intercom. "It appears that Miss Xiao Long is writing something on the wall! What could she be talking about?

"What are they doing for that matter?" Professor Port asked.

Ruby looked up from her work and looked at the screen. Weiss appeared to be using some rock dust to construct a platform with support beams. Judging by how the designs, Ruby had a sneaking suspicion that some glass is infused with the dust. However, what caught her attention was Yang. Burning on a wall of the ruined city is a message she knew is directed at her.

SHOWTIME!

Without wasting a moment, she grabbed her scroll and called Blake.

"Hey Blake, you are seeing this?" Ruby asked.

"Yep, I'm already at the arena," Blake said. "You ready to do your part?"

"I'm already jacking into the system," Ruby said as she displayed the schematics of the colosseum on her scroll. "Connecting Myrtenaster wirelessly to it. You ready to play?"

"I've already got a stage crew and camera crew making preparations," Blake said. Ruby could practically hear her grin. "I have to admit. Doing something like this has helped me materialize more people without making my headache."

"That's what happens when you exercise your brain," Ruby said as she readied her instrument. "Okay, we should be good to go in…"

"I'm not understanding what they are doing," Doctor Oobleck said as Yang and Weiss continued making the stage. "If they wanted to stop fighting all they had to do was- "

He didn't say much else as the intercom suddenly went dead. On the stage, Weiss checked Myrtenaster, now in microphone configuration. This was the configuration she had Ruby installed.

"This is in honor of you Brook," Weiss whispered as Yang propelled herself onto the stage.

"Everything's all set," Yang said as she clapped her hands. "Those two buffoons are all seated where we want them to be. All we need to do is wait for Ruby."

"No need," Weiss pointed upward as the ceiling of the colosseum began to darken. Ruby has activated the shades and is blocking out the sun. The crowd was speaking in hushed whispers. Weiss tapped her microphone and coughed.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Weiss spoke. "Please remain calm. In a few seconds, you will see that there is nothing to worry about."

As soon as she finished saying that, the spotlights from above activated and focused on her and the stage. Weiss grinned. Ruby has finished the preparations. She waved Myrtenaster, and several small glyphs appeared on the stage.

"Come forth Sound Warriors!"

Rising out from are several white mechanics anthropomorphized music equipment. Two of them are stereo speakers that set themselves in the back.

A drum with arms walked in front of Yang and sat itself down. It's two arms handed the blonde girl drumstick which she took eagerly. She sat on a stool made of rock. The other music beings held instruments that correspond to the type that they are and gave Weiss a thumbs up.

Weiss grinned back. It was because of these guys that she wanted to extend her time during summons. She met them once on an island where she sang for real for the first time. After defeating them, she felt a bond between them and her formed.

Now she is about to make her Remnant debut.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," Weiss spoke out again, giving Ruby time to connect the Sound Warriors time to connect them. "As a student at Beacon Academy, allow me to thank you all for coming!"

When the Sound Warriors gave her the thumbs up again, she began.

"~Let's fly to the sky! ~" Weiss sang as she carried out the last part. The Sound Warriors began playing their music. The speakers blasted it across the arena to the audience. Whatever the speakers didn't reach, the intercom that Ruby hijacked carried it.

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" Yang called out to a microphone Sound Warrior in front of her. "Welcome aboard RWBY airlines!"

"~There's not a single cloud in the sky! ~"

"This is your host Yang and Weiss speaking!" Yang said. "We'll be taking off shortly!"

"~Let's fly to the sky! There's not a single cloud in the sky! ~" Weiss continued singing, joy in her words as she thought of her crew. "~Let's fly to the sky, catch the perfect breeze for you! ~"

She let it rest for a moment before the upbeat part began.

"~Let's fly to the sky! (It's time to fly around) Catch the perfect breeze for you. ~" Weiss sang as the arena exploded into color. Above her, fireworks exploded. The crowd is watching with awe, some of them began to cheer her.

~Paint the sky with (Let's go to the wonder world) imagination that no one's ever seen! ~

~OH! OH! Even if it's too dazzling (Come on) ~

~OH! OH! Under the sun! ~

~ OH! OH! If it's you, you can make it! Throw away your pride and FLY!~

~ every day is plain! Real talent makes the world go round ~
~ Deceit won't work anymore. Mayday, the red light is stopping you too ~

~ Lend me an ear! And I'm gonna stick on my RAP! Wussup! ~
~ "From tomorrow on I'll get serious!"- seriously cut it out with excuses like that~
~ Increase your money with your dream! Time is money like NASDAQ! when will you do it boy? It's now or never man! This is the moment, right?~

~Everybody put ya hands in the air and clap ya hands like this like that
clap ya hands everybody! Everybody just clap ya hands!~

Weiss brought her hands to a clap. Soon, the audience is joining in on the clapping. Weiss could feel the joy in the air as she repeated the chorus.

(At this point, I feel like I will get in trouble for further lyrics. So, if you guys want to listen to the song, be sure to look up Departure by Back-On. One last thing. Disclaimer: I don't own the song whatsoever. It rightfully goes to its rightful owner. That includes the small scene during the song. Anyway, we skip to Weiss finishing the song…)

Weiss threw her head back in a dramatic fashion as the crowd cheered. An assortment of happy emotions is in the air. She could even hear some requests for more.

"Looks like we outdid ourselves, Weiss!" Yang called wiping a brow of sweat off.

"That we did," Weiss said as she handed Myrtenaster to a Sound Warrior and walks to the center of the stage. She raised a hand and formed a glyph. Descending from the ceiling on a glass platform is Neon and Flynt. Earlier, she had them moved above the stage so she could have them watch the show. She gestured to the cheering crowd.

"Get the point now?" Weiss asked.

"That you outclass me in singing," Flynt groused. "Yeah."

"Not that! You ass," Weiss snapped, much to his surprise. "This is a festival. This is meant to be a celebration of unity and peace between the kingdoms. Instead, you used it as an excuse to get back at what my father did your father's business."

Flynt opened his mouth to shout but Weiss turned away. "If you want to make him pay so bad, then go over to the Schnee Family Manor and kick his ass."

Flynt's throat died on his lips. "What?"

"As I said. March straight over there and kick his ass," Weiss said as she turned back around. "I'll even give you directions to the place. He's big enough to wipe his bottom, so why should I fight his battles?"

"But he's the CEO of the greatest Dust company," Flynt argued. "He'll have my ass easily! Not to mention he's your father!"

"So what?" Weiss asked, drawing strength from words that she heard her captain say to the tyrant Wapol. "It doesn't matter if he's my father OR my mother. It doesn't matter if he's a king, or even if he's a god! It doesn't matter if he's someone who's great or someone who is not so great! You can still kick his lousy butt, and I will gladly do it myself if I have to!"

Weiss declaration seemed to take Flynt by surprise. Weiss became sad. "Your family isn't the only one suffering, Flynt. Not just other people, he made his own family suffer too. I got this…" Weiss pointed to the scar on her eye. "From him. All because I wanted to go to Beacon. Believe me when I say that I want to be rid of him as much as you do."

Weiss took a deep breath.

"But right now, this is a festival. The people need to feel the joy this event is supposed to bring. So, will you help me with that Flynt? As a fellow musician?"

Weiss reached out a hand to him, her gaze is one of determination. Flynt looked at her hand for a moment. Then he took it and shook it.

"That was a good number you did back there," Flynt admitted with a smile. He held up his trumpet. "Mind if I join in on the next one?"

"Gladly," Weiss said with a big smile. "Don't worry about the lyrics, they will get to you. Come on, the crowds waiting for us!"

Weiss and Flynt ran to the front of the stage. The Sound Warriors moved aside to make room for Flynt. Weiss took Mytenaster back from the Sound Warrior.

"Hey!" Neon shouted. "Did you forget about me?!"

"Oh yeah," Weiss's eyes widened in realization. "One last thing…"

She raised Myrtenaster and formed a glyph at the top of the stage. Out of the glyph rose a block of glass. Weiss turned Myrtenaster into rapier mode, formed some platform glyphs, and leaped on them. When she got to the top, she slashed at the block several times. When she finally returned to the stage, Yang gasped.

"Weiss, I take it back. YOU outdid yourself this time."

On top of the stage, in precise detail, stood their crew. Straw hat Luffy holding the Jolly Roger of their crew while the rest stood with him. One could swear the flag is flapping in the wind.

[~][~]

Another chapter is done, hope you enjoyed it. I would like to take this moment to thank PENCILCEPTION THE ULTIMATE for helping me with this fic. Thank you all for reading this.

I figured that I would have Weiss tap into her singing aspects. But yeah, getting into a pointless fight would be degrading for them. So they showed them that it doesn't have to be that way. As for What Ruby is working on, I'm going to keep it under wraps until the reveal. Feel free to guess what it is though.

Once again, thank you all for reading and keep the faith that we will survive.