The unwanted result was being shown on the large display in the training arena and the crowd's voices echoed even louder than usual. Weiss could do nothing but remain on the ground and swallow the defeat along with the humiliation of having her efforts used to praise someone else.
For being a Schnee, it must be pleasurable for others to witness the metaphorical fall of the princess from her throne.
Through this, Weiss learned more and more about how detestable people could be. A trait not unique to faunus, as she believed it to be until a few months ago.
She didn't come to think like that out of mere spite, but because of the invincible girl's clear discomfort.
Pyrrha wanted to be anywhere else as long she wasn't the center of all this attention.
She was uncomfortable that she had won, and Weiss didn't know how to feel about it. Being on the losing side certainly made her angry and...
Weiss felt inferior.
The Aura levels displayed after the battle ended gave her no reason to think differently. Next to her, Yang had reached critical levels while Pyrrha and Nora were in the yellow, almost green in the case of Mistral's champion.
Pyrrha's Aura never seemed to fall below half, even when facing entire teams alone.
A feat no one else could replicate.
That was the end of Professor Goodwitch's combat class, one held in pairs. While Weiss and Yang were not the best combination on the team, it had proven effective in other matches... that had occurred before the incident.
Recently, they had been on a streak of bad luck. Although she wasn't invincible, no one was, other than Pyrrha, Weiss couldn't win against the best first-year students.
So, she lost... again.
Perhaps it was overbearing of her to want to beat Pyrrha of all people, but who else was worthy to have as a goal?
It certainly wasn't Jaune, another reason for the shadow that plagued her.
The awkward boy was changing considerably and improving at an alarming rate.
While his growth was visible, she seemed... stagnant, not to say regressing.
Weiss was no fool not to know the reason and the root of her problem.
The incident that followed up the Mount Glenn investigation wouldn't leave her mind. These constant thoughts wouldn't allow her to forget her greatest defeat. One that, to make what wasn't remotely pleasant worse, was against a member of the White Fang.
Even worse, if Weiss had been alone at that time, she would probably be dead right now.
Dead at the hands of that criminal organization.
The repercussions of it would be immeasurable.
With the death of the heiress of the hated Schnee family, the White Fang would grow in influence like never before.
In the worst-case scenario, considering the involvement of that madman, Roman Torchwick, it could lead to a new war between races.
Not that Weiss was that important, but if she died at the hands of those people, her father, as much as she didn't want to admit it, would do anything to get revenge and use this opportunity to possibly start a war himself.
The mere thought of her being indirectly responsible for such chaos was scary.
All these theories and possibilities would never become true if only one thing was different:
Weiss needed to be stronger.
"Damn it!" Yang stood up, staggering from having received a brutal sledgehammer to the head. "Nora is insane!"
Seriously, who does something like that without hesitation?! She could have sworn she saw life flash before her eyes!
"He, he!" Nora smiled, stroking the deadly object in her hands as she felt flattered. "Thank you!"
Yang was going to give her a reason to thank next time!
"Miss Valkyrie, be more conscious of your actions." Glynda should have been used to reckless students, but she couldn't. Every year had its green apples, wasting their potential. "Your blows should and must be deadly only against the Grimm, not against other people."
"Yes..." Nora was discouraged, but she would keep that in mind. No hammering heads... Why do I feel like the world just became a sadder place?
At least she still had pancakes and Ren, so she would survive!
"As for Miss Nikos," Glynda almost couldn't contain her change of tone and expression when addressing her best student. "Excellent performance, as always."
There was rarely anything different she could say to the girl and she only wished more students were like her.
The world itself would be a much better place with more Pyrrha's walking around.
"Thank you, professor," Pyrrha merely thanked, trying her best not to pay attention to this constant cheering and approval.
"Miss Xiao Long," Glynda addressed the shadow of someone who was usually just as reckless. "You get carried away with your emotions too easily, be more attentive to that and you will surely improve."
Yang had heard the same from her father and uncle countless times, but she never tried to control this anger, because that was exactly what activated her Semblance and made her stronger.
Just looking at the girl was enough for Glynda to know that her words had the same effect as Ozpin's on Taiyang: zero.
One day she will learn the hard way. Everyone would, of that Glynda was sure "Last but not least." She focused on the recent and most unexpected letdown. "I must say that I am not satisfied with you." The girl looked away, frustration covering her face. "I know of your capabilities and what you have been showing recently is below that... far below."
Weiss knew that all too well, but hearing it out loud served as confirmation.
"We all have our concerns and problems, but in this line of work, there can be no room for that." Glynda has seen too many people become their own downfall by not having their minds on what they really should. "Use this weekend to get your heads and priorities in place."
That said, she dispersed the students and the morning classes, hoping to see next week the same Schnee that she believed to be so promising.
"Geez, it's almost like she can read minds or something." Yang finally relaxed and checked her precious strands of golden hair. Depending on the damage, Nora will have her shampoo replaced with conditioner... or worse.
"That must be why she is the vice-principal and the main educator of this academy," Blake approached alongside Ruby and limited her comment to just the woman who had just left. They don't seem to be in the mood to hear any more criticism.
"The fight was amazing!" Ruby punched the air, always excited to see so many weapons in action! "Too bad I didn't get to fight too!"
"Amazing?" Weiss had her nerves poked, staring at her partner who was always too happy for her taste. "If you haven't noticed, Ruby, we lost!"
Again!
"Wow, princess, calm down." Yang found herself doing what others usually do to her when she was angry. "I didn't like the result either, but I was the one who almost got my head smashed in! And you don't see me on fire."
Weiss begged to differ, however, the fact that this short fuse was trying to be the voice of reason said a lot.
"Sorry..." she breathed, taking her time to retrieve the weapon she was so proud to have but couldn't put to good use. "It's just... I don't like losing."
A feeling everyone could relate to.
"I doubt anyone does," Blake agreed on more levels than she would like to admit. "That's why we train. To get better and to prevent things like that from happening or repeating."
"Not enough, apparently." Weiss wanted to feel progress and not regress while everyone around her kept getting better.
"Look, I understand," Yang hated to admit it, but she wasn't much different. "I..." The train incident came into her mind and her fists clenched. "I almost died last week, fighting a short multicolored girl."
The memory of that day and the dazzle of someone she desperately sought would never leave her mind.
"Yang..." Ruby didn't know that, staring at her sister with hurt and anger for being left out of important stuff like that. "I didn't know there were so many strong people on that train."
First Weiss and now Yang. What would have happened if things had really taken a turn for the worse?
"I was also captured so easily..." Ruby, without her scythe, was completely useless. Before she avoided the subject, but now, more and more, it became apparent that this weakness could really cost her someday. "But I also know that it only happened because we were tired of hunting Grimm all day!"
That had to count for something. Ruby could accept her weakness, but she also had to remember the scenario they were in!
"The problem is that those, or things, who want your blood don't care about details and excuses," something unpleasant to say, Blake knew, but it was also true.
Ruby was discouraged, reluctantly accepting the words spoken as something to take to heart. She couldn't expect any kind of noble consideration from her opponents, especially from the Grimm.
To do so was nothing more than ignorant naivete.
"Exactly," Weiss couldn't agree more, thinking about what she would do next, about how she would get rid of this cloud that affected her heart. Fortunately, there was a great event coming up serving that purpose perfectly. "So that's why I don't just want to participate in the Vytal Festival." Yes, that was it. She made up her mind. "I want to win!"
There would be no greater proof of her efforts than to triumph over the best students from other schools, especially Pyrrha. That way, she wouldn't lose again against White Fang ruffians and would be ready to help against any situation resulting from these conspiracies that kept happening even as they spoke.
"Quite a goal." Yang hadn't thought about that. While, yes, she wanted to participate and win, she was realistic about the odds. After all, to win the tournament, you need to beat Pyrrha.
That was the real challenge.
"Team Rwby winning the tournament?" Ruby sketched a smile, recovering her lost mood. She had practically forgotten about that amazing event about to take place, eager to participate and show the world how amazing her beloved Crescent Rose was and get more people in the path of the scythe sniper! "Let's do it, then!"
"Wow, sis. Hold your ponies." Yang liked the excitement, just as she liked keeping her feet on the ground. "Wanting to win is cool and all, but actually doing it is another story."
"Yang is right." Blake also liked to consider the odds. "We are not the only ones who think like that. I bet even Pyrrha intends to give her best for this victory, or she wouldn't be a champion."
A girl to be admired for her achievements. Blake even knew some faunus within the White Fang who not only envied and hated humans like Pyrrha but had a certain level of respect for her.
"Yeah... that girl is tough bone." Yang focused more on Nora during the fight, but all she had to do was blink and those scarlet hairs would emerge to break her stance and create perfect openings for her partner. I wonder who is stronger between her and the multicolored girl...
Both moved without restraint as if their bones had no ligaments. A frightening and enviable ability.
"In that case, we just need to train harder!" Ruby declared and could see the spark of motivation in the eyes of her sister and partner; sharpening the desire for victory.
"I'm not sure that's all we need." Blake considered the obvious proposal from her leader. While training helped, without proper guidance, most of their efforts would be wasted. "An instructor, I suggest we find one."
With this, they would make real progress and have someone more experienced to point out flaws and give relevant tips.
"An instructor? Like a professional Huntsman or Huntress?" Weiss didn't dislike the idea. Knowledge existed exactly to be passed on and having someone, whom they wanted to reach, would be an excellent help. "This could work."
"You are too immersed in all this." Yang seemed to be the only one there thinking rationally, which was quite unusual. "After what happened, even members of the Beacon Staff were relocated to reinforce the security of the kingdom. I doubt there is anyone available to give us any attention."
"You are not wrong, especially with the festival around the corner. Decreasing the chances of another attack should be the priority at the moment." Weiss should have considered that, becoming annoyed with herself as she remembered that there were many more important things going on at the moment. That must be why Professor Glynda was more direct and specific in scolding me.
Something bad could happen at any moment and she wasn't ready to help if needed.
It couldn't go on like this, that much Weiss was sure of.
"See, Yang is the voice of reason!" She was waiting for the praise, but it never came. Of course, no one took most of the things she said seriously, so to hear words of agreement in itself was already quite a victory.
"Well, there's always Uncle Qrow and Dad," Ruby reminded, thinking how perfect it would be to have both of them to help. Her father was an expert in hand-to-hand combat, so he could give her some tips. As for Uncle Qrow, his experience with weapons was top notch and he certainly had a lot of things to say to her friends!
Weiss had heard about these two from Winter, nothing good from this Qrow guy, but she still didn't underestimate him. These two were part of the best team back in their day and still had an absurd record of complete missions even by recent standards.
Even though they were the ones who created and possibly influenced Ruby and Yang's eccentric personalities, Weiss wouldn't mind meeting them.
"Nah, they are already busy." Yang easily shattered the expectations created. "No one escaped. Dad has just been called and Uncle Qrow isn't even in Vale at the moment." She must have forgotten to tell Ruby and no one could blame her for that. Seriously, who texts at 5:30 in the morning?
If her father thought Yang would get out of bed after seeing the message, he was so wrong.
For the others, it seemed that nothing was helping and that was kind of disappointing.
"Own..." Ruby wanted to see the two of them and show them the modifications she had made to Crescent Rose. Maybe Uncle Qrow made some too, but I won't lose!
"Don't be like that!" Yang wouldn't let her team and friends down and knew exactly what to do to cheer them up. "How about we go out for a while? Go to Vale and get something to eat before Professor Port's boring class? Just thinking about it is bad for my skin."
She could almost hear the torturing voice of that professor and his fake tales.
"Are you going to pay?" Weiss wanted to say that Yang was bad for her skin, but decided to ruin the plan to make her the wallet on this little outing.
"Urgh..." The princess caught her and it hurt to have to utter the next words: "I'll pay..."
One's suffering was another's happiness.
"Cookies!" Ruby disappeared in a whirlwind of petals, going to get ready for the predestined meeting with her sweet, free little friends!
"We really should cut down on her sugar." Blake was beginning to think that her leader was addicted to cookies. It could be worse...
Heavy drugs are a reality in the outside world.
"When you put down your questionable books, she'll probably do the same," Yang replied, smiling at the blushing and agitation of this kinky cat.
"M-My books are not questionable!" They might be spicy, but there was nothing wrong with that. Well, Blake didn't see a problem with it at all.
Weiss also blushed a little at the memory provided by some of the pages of this material that could be anything but didactic as the fake cover suggested.
"See, even Weiss agrees." The girl's incredibly pale skin proved honest about her opinions, and Yang was never tired of it.
"I didn't say anything, Yang." Weiss looked away, refusing to be easily read like that.
"Whatever you say, Weiss." Yang kept her smile and didn't press the issue. There was a limit to avoiding turning a joke into a fight. "Come to think of it, I know a place that is well-frequented by boys~"
That suggestive look and smile represented the worst side of the daring girl on the team.
"Yang, the last thing on my mind right now is boys." Really, it was enough with Neptune and the fact that he left her alone for most of the dance. Even though he showed up at the end, it wasn't by his own will. In the end, he was nothing but a flirt.
Disappointing, to find out that her first crush was so shallow.
"Well... there are real men and girls there too," Yang had preferences too, so she wouldn't judge.
"Yang, just be quiet." Seriously, sometimes Weiss wondered if the girl had any sense of morals. Although, interacting with someone more mature would be an appreciated change.
Not romantically, of course... Right?
"We'd better go soon, your sister seems to be having a relapse," Blake informed them about the sullen girl who stared at them with a certain degree of madness in her silver eyes. At least the subject has moved away from me.
Holding her precious book, the cover of which was properly concealed, the idea of meeting an older man didn't seem so bad. The main character in this story was a professor living a romantic dilemma about relating to his beloved student and things... got hot as the pages went on.
It would certainly be someone with the head in place. Quite different from the one person she had been in a relationship with in the past and wanted to keep her distance from at all costs.
With that, the team RWBY left Beacon to take a walk, clear their minds, and organize their priorities.
- - - -
To find the lost planet in the far reaches of the stars, Vegeta traversed half the universe almost literally. To do so, he was forced to use Instant Transmission so many times that he eventually completely mastered the, until recently, unwanted technique. It took hundreds, almost thousands of galaxies to finally find himself facing the godforsaken planet that Whis had told him about.
Thanks to training in Yardrat, Vegeta could sense life energy beyond the quadrant of a galaxy, but that was his current limit. Not necessarily a good thing, even if it did help him teleport far less often than he would have needed, as he also remembered the absurd amount of living beings inhabiting the universe.
Lives that I threatened to destroy for revenge... With a more rational mind after moving far enough away to not feel the clown's presence, Vegeta felt bad for remotely suggesting such absurdity.
After living a life of conquests bathed in slaughter and finally finding inner peace on Earth, Vegeta deeply regretted his actions.
Normally speaking, the thought of returning to his former self was unthinkable. Being out of his mind, however, was another story.
The rage of a Saiyan was blinding and clouded the mind.
Truth be told, if Bulla had also died, there would have been nothing to keep him rational. Vegeta thought and rethought about how to kill Kakarot with his lower power level and only by sacrificing himself could he remotely tear the bastard apart... along with the entire universe.
Fortunately, I didn't. Eternal damnation would be really torturous for Vegeta with that additional guilt to eat him away in hell.
If there was a hell left for him to go to.
Another thing he noticed while teleporting between galaxies and identifying so many life forms would be the unknown presence of some powerful entities.
Vegeta had never left his galaxy at the time he was serving Frieza. In fact, he doubted that the damned himself had done it and still proclaimed himself Emperor of the Universe.
Almost every galaxy had someone who could at least rival Frieza's first form in the old days. In some others, it had beings as strong as Vegeta was when he first transformed into Super Saiyan.
Of course, not one of these unknown entities he discovered was a threat, but it didn't take away from the main point of his thinking:
The universe was vast and filled with the unknown.
All this brought him to the most mysterious place of all so far. Where, supposedly, it should be even more mystical than Yardrat, or else there would be no point in Whis sending him to check out such a planet.
To be able to help someone of his level become stronger, it had to be very special.
Hovering outside the stratosphere, Vegeta cautiously analyzed the world that would help him become the most powerful mortal of this and all universes.
A smaller planet composed mostly of water, just like Earth. Not exactly common, but Vegeta had conquered some similar ones. There is only one sun in this system, and orbiting the planet is no more than a... broken moon?
That was strange, mainly because of the disproportionate size it had in relation to the planet. Moons of this size only orbited larger planets, such as the planet Vegeta.
Irrelevant. Although the state of the moon drew attention to the fact that it wasn't something that happened naturally, whoever or whatever destroyed it must be weak to not be able to do more than that and Vegeta was more interested in what he was feeling on the planet. This strange feeling hovering in the atmosphere... Was familiar and it brought back bad memories. Hate, anger, fear... negativity fills this whole place.
He used to exude that kind of aura himself and so did almost all of Frieza's soldiers.
With so little, Vegeta assumed that something bad was happening to this world.
While Earth was populated by Billions, this planet barely had a few million. Among them, Vegeta noted in mild disappointment, those few who felt stronger were laughably weak...
What did Whis want him to learn in such a place?
Yet, while he remained skeptical and worried, expecting fighters capable of concealing their power level, there was something... strange.
These energies are different. Where had Vegeta felt this before? It wasn't mortal, or divine. If he had to compare, it would be similar energy that his blue form releases. Not in the power aspect, of course, but in the way it behaves and differs because it was a combination of mortal and divine ki. Maybe there is something here after all.
Of everything he had seen and felt so far on this planet, only this energy proved relevant, and perhaps that was exactly what Whis wanted him to seek.
After Yardrat, Vegeta was no longer holding so much prejudice against the weak, because they were creative and tended to have useful techniques that worked against more powerful opponents.
After waiting another moment, and not feeling even one entity of power, Vegeta wondered if no one was coming to see him. Although he was restraining himself, the power leaking from his body was more than enough to blow up this planet ten times over.
With that in mind, he hoped that someone would come to greet him or even confront him. Since no one showed up, maybe they didn't see him as a threat, or else, in the worst-case scenario, they were too scared to appear before him.
The need to breathe and the lack of patience made Vegeta enter the atmosphere, putting his thoughts and worries aside for the moment. Without needing to do so consciously, his mind was stuck with the clearing of a blue sky and clear water, clean air, greenish vegetation, and a gravity that made him stagnate in mid-air as he remembered the place he had left behind.
"I have returned to Earth?" For a moment, that seemed to be the case, and his heart beat faster. Concentrating on these familiar surroundings, Vegeta scanned the planet again, and only after doing so ten times, he was able to reassure himself. "It doesn't have any familiar ki, but for there to be such a similar planet..."
There might be countless similar planets, but it would hardly reach such a level.
"Damn it, Whis. What do you hope to achieve by sending me to a place like this?" It couldn't be just so he could get the power he needed to face Kakarot.
Controlling his temper, Vegeta decided to stick to what he had in mind before and not let himself jump to conclusions. Now he needed to go directly to the address registered in his Scroll and only then would he start making assumptions.
"Vale?" he read the name of the city where he should go next and used a search tool to find out more about the place and its location based on population density. "Easy."
It wasn't too far away, but he still preferred to use Instant Transmission. Back on Earth, the inhabitants were always surprised when they witnessed someone flying and he didn't want any unnecessary attention.
In the blink of an eye, Vegeta was in the middle of the city, and for the second time, he had to take a deep breath when he noticed people walking down the street.
Seriously, Whis. What the hell!? If there was one thing he would do when he met that angel again, it would be to trick him into eating something made entirely of wasabi!
It wasn't enough that the nature of the planet was similar, even the basic structure of the local architecture was almost the same, not to mention the inhabitants!
Earthlings, or humanoid-looking sentient beings, filled the streets with clothing and style that didn't look like they belonged to a foreign world, making him feel completely normal and... at home.
He was on a damn copy of planet Earth!
While Vegeta didn't see flying cars or humanoid animals, there was advanced technologic in the form of robots and people with some animalistics characteristics that separated them from normal earthlings.
One of them almost made Vegeta believe he was a Saiyan with his brown hair and monkey tail of the same color.
Stay calm. He thought about why he was there and didn't let his indignation get the better of him. Even though this place resembles Earth, it doesn't mean that it is the same.
Exactly. If he paid attention, he could see many differences between the two worlds and just to prove that fact to himself, Vegeta would make a confirmation with the local cuisine.
One thing he had learned from all these years was that every planet had its own peculiarities.
Then his eyes focused on a store with a large cup where four girls entered, remembering the place where Bulma used to take him when they had free time.
Dammit... Now he wanted to drink that bitter drink that Bulma had accustomed him to have daily and eat something. To the hell, I doubt it will taste the same.
There was a limit to coincidences, there had to be and Vegeta would prove it, or else he would leave this world without a second thought.