[IC] RWBY: Chronicle of Vault.

[Sho Minazuki]

Asher Brandt

Lustre Academy - Morning
@CadenGallic@Polaris North@Shadow Daedalus

As the scene dispersed and everyone was headed to class, he turned to his team. Terrance and Silas were obviously the most miffed from this situation and result, they didn't like their authority or sensibilities challenged. They seemed quite stubborn and unwilling to compromise too, so a fight seemed inevitable for awhile without intervention. That aside, it seems Cedar was fine. To Asher, racism against Faunus was not an unknown concept, but it wasn't one he wanted to accept. Some of his friends in Vault were faunus after all, though being a street urchin and troublemaker for quite some time lets one meet a lot of interesting individuals.

"I guess we should get going to class then, and nice work Yasmin... I don't think a fight was avoidable without a teacher", he said. He wasn't going to mention anything about fighting those two, they didn't deserve that kind of recognition in his opinion. To him, they were just the same old bullies he's met out on the streets. He didn't see anything distinct about them besides their skills and appearance.

While everyone here seemed to want to avoid Silas and Terrance from now, in Asher's opinion... They needed to be put under his heel. He believed at this academy, everyone should see each other as equals to the extent of respect, but it appears Silas and Terrance don't think so... And what better way to teach them than putting them below someone.

"Anyways, let's move, before everyone's gone. At the very least we'll have someone to follow to the right class", because he didn't know the layout of this place just yet.

[Shadow Daedalus]

Venator Aurea

Lustre Academy, Dining Hall -> Combat Class
_{@Eklispe@CadenGallic}

---

Venator's hand moved closer to his jacket as Terrance's fist was reared back, or more specifically to Vulcan, hidden in a discrete holster under his arm. He was close to drawing the weapon until Miss Lariet's shout travelled across the hall and he turned his head towards her, letting his hand fall to his side as he did so. He wasn't that surprised as she gave her ultimatum, instead giving a small sigh in relief as the two from STAR backed down. He really couldn't be bothered with pointless fighting on the first day. He looked over to Yasmin with a slight smile and nodded in approval.

As Cedar piped up, the wolf gave him a small but confident smile. "No problem, we 'mutts' gotta look out for each other right? You've got a good team there, and Asher seems like a decent enough guy to lead you. I'll catch you later maybe, I gotta catch up to my team..."

With that, he headed towards the classroom. He fell into step with the petite strawberry-blonde tutor. "That was good timing, Miss Lariet. Things weren't far from going south real fast... Probably my arrest level south." He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, remembering back to the first time and only he tried (and failed) to fight her. She was the Instructor for Combat Class for a reason after all...

He didn't say much else as he walked the rest of the way, remaining quiet until he took his place with the rest of his team. In response to the obvious unasked question, he looked towards Miss Lariet in front of the group, but spoke to the three figures giving him questioning looks... well, two questioning looks and Terra... It was kinda hard to tell what he was thinking.

"Don't ask..."

[CadenGallic]

@Sho Minazuki@Polaris North@Shadow Daedalus@Eklispe

"Um right, yeah! Mutts stick together!" Cedar grinned goofily as Ven spoke to him, his foxy ears wiggling slightly. "I'll see you in class!" he called after him as Ven's longer legs quickly put him ahead of the shorter Faunus.

"Of course. Huntresses must be swift, after all." Yasmin smiled coyly to both boys, batting her eyes a little bit as she walked beside them toward class, the large group giving them a pretty distinct path by this point.

"So I saw." Miss Lariet sighed, pinching her forehead slightly. "On the first day too, I hoped we'd at least make it a week before we had issues like this. Must give the nurse a mention to look out for headcases..." she continued to ramble and mumble to herself as she moved with the crowd.

The classroom they arrived in was probably the largest in the entire Academy. That wasn't saying much right now considering none of them had seen the other classrooms yet, but it was a pretty fair estimate. There were two blocks of seats on either side of the door they entered from, simple but comfortable seats in rows of 8, fitting for the teams that would occupy them. In the middle of the room was a large raised circular platform with a lower ring to make it easier to step up to, taking up the majority of the space in the classroom. At the far end of the room, opposite the door, was a small terminal in place of a traditional teacher's desk with a seat behind it, reeking of Atlas designed tech. Above the terminal were two large, currently blank screens, their purpose unclear.

Once the students were seated, miss Lariet did a dainty little hop onto the raised platform and stood in the middle of it, hands behind her back as she cleared her throat and put on her best smile for the students.

"Welcome, first years, to combat class. I am Miss Lariet, your teacher for this class over the coming semester. In combat class, we aim to test your strength and abilities in match ups against other students in this school. This will include one on one matches, tag team rounds, full team based battles and further variations, all will be used to help improve your finesse, teamwork and synergy in both standard fights and working with your team. So, let me explain how this is going to work." She held up a small remote in one hand and pressed the button. Behind her, the two screens lit up with two large images, two wheels laden with the names of each student in the class.

"First of all, any of you are welcome to volunteer to come down for a fight, in fact it's a good sign of confidence. But if no-one has the guts, we'll be using these wheels to randomly decide match ups from the entire class, so don't be shy!" She smiled again, keeping up her enthusiasm. "Oh and, a quick mention, i've asked our school nurse to attend this first class in case of injuries, so don't worry." she gestured to her left where, on the other side of the room, another woman was standing attentively.

"Hello everyone!" She beamed and waved a little too over excitedly at them. She was dressed as you'd expect a nurse to be, a white dress shirt with a band around her arm with a red cross, a black business skirt that reached her knees, tights and dress shoes. Her hair was a far more vibrant blonde than Miss Lariet, outright golden and easily long enough to reach just above the floor... it was worth noting as well, her curvature probably shouldn't have been able to physically exist on a human being without extreme back pain.

"So, will anybody step up?" Miss Lariet addressed the crowd.

[Polaris North]

Julio Taiyou

Julio followed the rest of the crowd towards the classroom along with the team. He had his hands on his jacket's pockets, but he kept his distance from the others and mostly kept to the side, avoiding contact with everyone. He looked relaxed, but he was quite worried that he might get a panic attack if he stuck too close. Once they slipped into the classroom, he sat down with the rest of the team, preferring the far end rather than the ones inside.

Everything about this school's tech just had to remind him of home.

He listened intently on the explanation - but it ended up just being what they expected it to be. The subject name had been self-explanatory after all. His eyes trailed to the monitor. Ah, so that's how they'll pick randomly. 'Wheel of Fate', he could say. Pitting a student against another... He wasn't looking forward to one-on-one fighting as he works more as support than a tank. But he might as well try.

But he didn't volunteer. He'd like to observe first before he fights. At the mention of the nurse, he turned his attention to her. She seemed a little too excited. Maybe she's looking forward to taking care of a student? Unlikely. With Aura protecting them, it should give them ample protection unless someone goes overboard. He didn't seem to pay much attention to her physical appearance... but her 'assets' were much too unavoidable to see to not notice.

He quickly tore away his eyes from the nurse with the question 'how can she lug that around all day, everyday' and then looked back at Miss Lariet. From the incident earlier, he guessed that Asher and Terrance would be the ones to fight on the first day - but that was only a possibility.

[Sho Minazuki]

Asher Brandt

Lustre Academy - Combat Class
@CadenGallic@Polaris North

He knew this was standard fare for all academies but had never seen one in person. He knows they were due to his studies the moment he entered the Brandt family, but that was the extent of his knowledge. He could feel the expectant looks of many of the students here, they were expecting him and Terrance to get up and settle their score, honestly all circumstances presented it seemed they were encouraging it. He didn't want to get up first solely for that reason, else he would do so quite easily... "Shows confidence" she says, it means a lot more than confidence if he and Terrance got up first. It was wholly unprofessional... Still, that being said.

"I'll step up", he called. There was no use cowering in fear, he had great confidence in his ability to fight a single person, simply for that fighting him was like fighting two people at the same time, thanks to his abilities. When all was decided he was given his weapon and stepped down into the arena.

[Eklispe]

Azura Cerulean

Lustre Academy, Combat Class

---

Azura resisted the urge to yawn. Basically just class to get good at everything involving fighting and doing it through fighting with and against classmates. And things opened up with classmates fighting each other, either via volunteer or lottery, with an oversized nurse already on hand. Eh, she had no interest in volunteering but wouldn't complain if she got picked. Besides somebody else had already volunteer so her chances of getting picked were probably pretty low.

[Shadow Daedalus]

Venator Aurea

Lustre Academy, Combat Class

---

Venator leaned back into his seat as Asher volunteered for the first match. It wasn't at all surprising that he did, and now he was expecting Terrance to take that challenge as well. The blond seemed like the type that wouldn't let what happened in the hall earlier go easily; he was too prideful and too hard-headed, an undesirable trait at best for young Huntsmen. At any rate, this would give Venator a chance observe to observe how the rest of his year can fight.

Because of the unique circumstances of his team, Venator never got to see the others participating in the entrance exam. He knew that Terra was a fearsome fighter, likely the most formidable member of Team VALT, and Lynn and Azura were skilled in their own rights, but his fellow students were unknowns. Of course that also worked in the reverse, to which he pitied the poor sap that has to take Terra one-on-one.

Turning his attention back to the petite teacher, he waited to see who would be pitted against the leader of Team JAYC.

[CadenGallic]

@Polaris North@Shadow Daedalus@Eklispe@Sho Minazuki

"Mr Brandt, very good!" Miss Lariet beamed seeing someone with the confidence to step up so early, beckoning him down to the stage with a wave of her hands. "So, do we have any other volunteers? If no-one steps up, Mr Brandt is allowed to choose his opponent, just so you know." She teased with a little playful laughter.

"Count me in, teach." And surprise surprise, Terrance Thunderhead rose from his seat and began making his way down to the stage, a face of grim determination plastered over his face.

"Very good Mr Thunderhead! Both of you, take up positions on either side of the arena and we'll begin." she informed them as she moved back to the terminal behind them and began pressing buttons on it. Soon, the two screens above the arena displayed a little Versus graphic, followed by headshots of both Terrance and Asher appearing on the left and right respectively, both with a bar to show their aura reserves during the fight. Once they were both in the arena, Miss Lariet spoke up one more time.

"Now remember you two, standard rules apply. If your aura drops below 15%, you're out. If your opponent knocks you out of the ring, you're out." Miss Lariet explained as Terrance squared off, opposite to Asher. He drew his weapon, a heavy looking maul hammer with what looked like a revolver chamber built into the large head of the hammer. He glared down Asher, his eyes full of fury and fire, his hands gripping the shaft of his maul.

"FIGHT!" Miss Lariet shouted.

[Polaris North]

Julio Taiyou

Lustre Academy - Combat Class
@Sho Minazuki

The silent atmosphere continued until Asher's voice cut through the air like a hot knife on butter. Asher stood up and headed down the arena. Before he was out of earshot, Julio said, "Show him that you're not all bark." A desperate attempt to make a pep talk? Yes. But he figured that it was the thought that counts. He leaned back onto his chair as the students waited in apprehension for the next fighter whom they expected to be Terrance.

And the blond did. He volunteered to fight Asher, his face serious. Julio watched as the male stepped down onto the arena, grabbing his weapon along the way. Miss Lariet seemed overjoyed with this. Julio looked at the screens as they switched images, now showing Asher and Terrance and their aura points. He then watched as Terrance unfolded his weapon, a large maul hammer, and then glared at Asher with such intensity that Julio was sure that Asher would've melted if it had the power to do so.

[Sho Minazuki]

Asher Brandt

Lustre Academy - Combat Class
@CadenGallic

"Predictable...", he muttered under his breath as he grabbed his weapon. Of course Terrance would get up too, he of the two seemed to be the only one taking this match personally. When preparations were done he stepped out onto the arena, as did Terrance. As they took their positions, he sized his opponent down. Large, uses a maul... This might not be difficult at all then, as long as he avoids a direct hit or any hit with that maul, he should be fine, plus the long shaft affords him more ways to counter it. Such an opponent wouldn't be fast enough to keep up with his onslaught normally, but the deciding factor is whatever semblance he has in store.

The moment the signal for the fight to begin went off he pushed off the ground with a small blast of aura, closing the distance between him and Terrance in a matter of moments. That maul was a long weapon, if he stayed inside it's range, he should mitigate it's ability to effectively hurt him. What he does next is based on Terrance's reaction, hand poised on the trigger of his katana, still sheathed.

[CadenGallic]

@Sho Minazuki
Terrance's grip strengthened as Asher began the fight rushing straight at him. For as much of a musclehead he was, Terrance seemed aware he was at a disadvantage and so copied Asher's move, dashing forward to meet him, closing the gap even quicker between them. Once they were close enough, he brought his weapon up to bat, holding it vertically and taking a swipe at him from his right to his left with a grunt of strength.

[Sho Minazuki]

Asher Brandt

Lustre Academy - Combat Class
@CadenGallic

The sound of a gunshot echoed as Asher's blade flew right out of it's sheath, saving him the need to pull his arm to his blade and grab it to draw it. The incredibly fast retaliation would meet Terrance's maul's shaft, striking against the large weapon with the added power of being propelled by the gun mechanism. He loaded Gravity dust for this fight, and only that, adding more weight to the strike as he aimed to mitigate Terrance's power-based response, by cancelling the force with his own. Asher's katana's blade glowing dark purple with the effects of the dust. Terrance's grip was too tight for this to completely throw the heavy weapon out of his hands, but it was enough, as his move worked as a parry, deflecting the attack, if not deriving it of any power he would have built up.

Assuming it succeeded, Terrance would be vulnerable and forced immediately on the defensive, with Asher's blade drawn and ready, he would be under immense pressure from Asher's succeeding assault.

[CadenGallic]

@Sho Minazuki
The parry was a superb mitigation of Terrance's initial strike, throwing his own strength back at him and shifting the larger huntsman backward a bit, his hammer reeling to his left with the swing uncompleted. It clearly threw Terrance for a moment that a mere sword had deflected his blow so succinctly. His reading was correct as Terrance was forced to take a more defensive stance for Asher's incoming assault, holding his hammer with the head up and forward slightly, intent to use it to block any immediate forward attacks.

[Sho Minazuki]

Asher Brandt

Lustre Academy - Combat Class
@CadenGallic

The defensive stance that Terrance took kept the hammer pointing up, making any of his counterattacks easier, he need only push his weight forward a little bit and let his momentum and gravity do the work. However, keeping the weapon vertical meant the long weapon lost it's ability to guard his sides.

While Terrance was recovering to defend against the next attack, Asher quickly moved to his side, summoning his semblance clone to execute the forward attack Terrance was expecting, but the moment he realized what he was defending against, Asher was already to his flank and almost completely behind him, sandwiching the big hunter between himself and his semblance, a quick and rapid strike coming down from behind, intended to get in the first strike, the gravity buffed blade ensured the strike would have additional stopping power.

[CadenGallic]

@Sho Minazuki
Terrance blocked the clone's attack from the front and was taken by surprise when he was struck from behind, wincing as the sword's increased gravity made him stagger forward slightly. A low growl emitted from his lips as he lowered his hammer and suddenly spun on the spot, swinging his hammer upward at Asher, almost akin to a golf swing.

[Sho Minazuki]

Asher Brandt

Lustre Academy - Combat Class
@CadenGallic

Turning around was a bad idea, not turning around was a bad idea, it was a bad time for Terrance. This was Asher's strength in single-combat, granted to him by his Semblance, cornering and checkmating a single target with outnumbering them by just one. It wasn't just that though, it was how in sync he and the clone was, easily allowing him to achieve continuous assaults. The moment Terrance turned around, his clone had a clean opportunity to strike Terrance, as Asher simply jumped back out of his hammer's range, which he was able to as he did not commit very hard to his previous attack.

Terrance's swing was very projected, it looked to him the blonde brute was angry, and just wanted to hit something, if the grunting and growling wasn't an indication of that, the outrageous, risky and easy to see attacks made it obvious. As a result, it was easy for Asher to jump out. But now that Terrance's hammer was high in the air, the momentum and weight making him still reeling from his own attack, it was time to end this.

With a twirl he spun the sheath of his weapon to be held upright as he stepped forward and laid into Terrance, his arms still raised from his golf-swing. At the same time after having made it's mark on Terrance, the clone behind him entered the same stance with twin blades, and proceeded to mimic every single one of Asher's strikes with slight delay, ensuring that there would be no opening to recover as he shredded Terrance down until he was out, or until he somehow managed to break free from the stunlock.

[CadenGallic]

@Sho Minazuki
There was a cross between a sharp yelp and a grunt of irritation as Terrance suddenly found himself pinned from back to front, being attacked on both sides, almost being treated like a pinball inbetween two bumpers, going back and forth between them with every strike. But the jagged haired blonde wasn't quite done yet, even as his aura dropped. Inbetween the two, he managed to turn himself so he was facing away from them, with the clone and Asher on each of his sides, using his arms to tank the abuse of his swift strikes. Terrance's aura, a glowing crackling yellow, began to form around him as he moved his hands apart.

"GET! BACK!" he shouted loudly before he brought his hands together in a clap. The impact was instantaneous and the effect could be felt all across the classroom and the arena. A sonic boom. From Terrance's hands, great force rushed out, swathing across the arena and across the room as the larger boy was able to hold his ground with his greater size. Asher on the other hand...

[Sho Minazuki]

Asher Brandt

Lustre Academy - Combat Class
@CadenGallic

The moment he saw the crackling aura, he changed his stance to step back, and step back he did, dismissing his clone. The way it looked, it seemed a storm was coming, the amount of power he was seeing, if he stood too close he may not have the chance to counter-attack and punish this move, but he had a plan. As the thunderclap was executed, he was blasted away as one would expected, though mid-flight he simultaneously hit the trigger on the sheath, letting it fire a gravity bullet, allowing him to mitigate his backwards momentum as he did a somersault at the same time.

In that moment, while the initial shockwave had subsided, his semblance clone jumped out of him and sprinted towards Terrance, closing the distance once more, before he could pick up his weapon. The clone after striking at Terrance once, would immediately step aside as he was given little time to react to the sheath Asher had thrown at him, forced to either block, or take the hit head-on to the face as Asher followed close behind.

Whatever Terrance had the chance to do as Asher charged him, he would find himself striking at smoke as Asher channeled the clone switch mid-charge, which had already positioned itself directly behind Terrance. All of this executed in mere moments as Asher put all his weight and power into a two-handed strike from behind Terrance without a word, or delay, before catching his sheath as it fell. He was going to close this quickly. As the blade swung in an instantaneous ace, followed by a trail of orange as the weapon's base blade began to show.

With the barrage from earlier, and how much aura he expended in that single shockwave, there should be almost nothing left of Terrance's aura. Unless he was some kind of aura god, there was no way he could withstand all of this.

[CadenGallic]

@Sho Minazuki
With a gap created between them, Terrance had renewed vigour, a plan of sorts forming in his head. He stood a foot out under the shaft of his hammer and with a deft kick, flicked it back into his hands, right as Asher's clone struck. With it in the position it was in, he was able to block with the shaft quite well. Terrance's next swing was another wide one, but he was starting to grow knowledgable to his opponents moves and his first swing was a feint. Instead he turned on the spot with the swing and brought his hammer around, jabbing it head first toward Asher like it was a spear, relying on his strength to break his opponent's attack.

[Sho Minazuki]

Asher Brandt

Lustre Academy - Combat Class
@CadenGallic

The two-handed strike was backed up, the moment he saw Terrance turn around Asher's footwork brought him out of the jab's range as he sidestepped. Asher stood back, catching his sheath. Terrance was wisening up, not bad, but Asher had already finished analyzing his opponent. This boy was a brute-force type, relying on very simple tactics, suitable for a very simple fighter. Asher knew exactly what he needed to do.

He stepped back and away from Terrance's shaft range, and was now standing in the ideal range for his maul. Asher sheathed his blade as he stood in position. It looked as if Asher was going for the draw move from the start of the fight as his eyes focused intently on his opponent.