There was something strange about that Penny girl. Her match against Russel Thrush and Sky Lark barely lasted a minute, not even mentioning the fact that her teammate stood back and let her do all the work. Then again, it's not like Team CRDL were phenomenal fighters. On more than one occasion they had tried to corner you, Cardin still wanting revenge for embarrassing him in the middle of the cafeteria. They never did seem to learn, and each time you walked away unscathed, leaving the four in an unconscious pile out of sight from prying eyes.

It was the next match however, that you were excited for. Sitting in the front rows with Ruby, Blake, and Team JNPR, you smiled as you watched Weiss and Yang step out onto the field, Yang's hair reflecting the brilliant light of the sun. Across from them were there opponents; Neon Katt and Flynt Coal of Team FNKY. Guess not all teams are named after a color.

What you had hoped would be a respectful battle turned out to be, not that. It seemed Mr. Coal had some personal vendetta against the Schnee family for running his father's shop out of business. For this reason, he was particularly acerbic towards Weiss, which you thought was uncalled for. What really made you mad though, was the tone Neon took with Yang. Their conversation, amplified by microphones around the stage, caused you to scowl.

"Hey, why don't you!" Neon mocked. "That's what you sound like."

"Uh..." Yang said, scratching the back of her head.

"Hey, where'd you get your hair extensions."

"This is just my normal hair."

"Ooh, really?"

The frown on your lips spread to your forehead as your eyebrows furrowed. The tone in Neon's voice made your eyes narrow in displeasure. You weren't quite sure you liked that girl.

"You should try rollerblading sometime. It's super fun. It'd probably take you a while though, since you're so, you know, top heavy."

You rose to your feet in anger. You really didn't like that girl.

"(F/N), sit down." Blake says, grabbing your arm and forcing you back into your seat.

Still scowling, you slowly sat back down, carefully watching the fight below. Almost immediately, Flynt caught Weiss and Yang off guard. Then, in a rainbow colored blur, Neon separated Yang from Weiss, taking her into the farther half of the arena. You grew more and more anxious with every passing second as Neon managed to circle Yang, delivering blow after blow.

"Come on Yang." You hissed under your breath. "Keep your hands up."

Sliding under Yang's right jab, Neon managed to freeze her leg in a thick case of ice.

"Look, now you're bottom heavy too."

Your eyes glowed a menacing (F/C) as you released a low growl, your fists clenched around the end of your chair's armrests, grinding them into dust, and your heels dug into the ground, cracking the concrete beneath you so that your seat sank into the ground slightly. Ruby looked at you nervously, inching to the other side of her chair as far from you as possible.

"I wasn't trying to say you should go on a diet. I was saying you really need to go on a diet."

You'd never been more furious in your life. Your entire body was now emitting a powerful (F/C) glow as your muscles tensed with anger. You slammed your fist on your knee, the energy passing through your leg and into the ground, shaking your entire half of the arena. Several members of the audience panicked as their seats shook. They thought the Amity Arena might be about to fall from the sky. Meanwhile, you were thinking to yourself that if there hadn't been an energy barrier separating the audience from the arena, you might have just jumped into the ring yourself and taught that filthy wannabe skater a thing or two about disrespecting your girlfriend.

Though you would never admit it, you were a little concerned that Yang and Weiss might not be able to pull through, especially once Weiss took that dive. Then Yang's eyes turned red and her hair burned a bright gold. At that point you knew it was over, and sure enough, not even sixty seconds later both Flynt and Neon's auras had dropped into the red. Ruby heaved a sigh of relief, though less because her team had won and more because you were fighting next, meaning you wouldn't be causing any more seismic events.

Making your way back stage, you ran into Yang and Weiss. Weiss was completely covered in soot and was about to head back to the school to shower and change. Yang however, was just about to make her way to the audience to watch your fight.

"(F/N)!" Yang shouts, turning as you enter the room. "What'd you think of the fight?"

"I think I don't like that Neon girl." You answer through gritted teeth. "I swear, if I ever hear her insult you again they'll never find her body."

Weiss looks at you in concern, but Yang laughs and wraps her arms around your neck, pulling you down for a quick kiss.

"My knight in shining armor." She jokes. "Always defending my honor."

"Always. Not that you need me to." You laugh. "I'm pretty confident you can look after yourself."

"Damn straight."

Kissing you one last time for good luck, she and Weiss bid you farewell and leave you to get ready. Your locker containing Rhino's Charge has already been delivered and entering the combination you grab your meteor hammer off its peg and sling it over your shoulders. Several minutes pass in silence before your name is announced. The familiar sound of applause echoing through the narrow tunnel reaches your ears, though they're much louder and far more enthusiastic. It was, after all, the last match of the knockout rounds.

Positioning yourself at the center of the arena, you watched as your opponent, Duncan Zauber, a third -year student from Haven, exited the tunnel across from you. He gave a theatrical bow, flourishing his hands and throwing back his emerald green cape. He looked very much like a circus performer, a black dress shirt with emerald embellishments accompanied by a tie of a similar design. Despite his appearance, he was not to be underestimated. He didn't make it to the finals of the knockouts on luck. No, he was most definitely a skilled fighter.

As he stepped onto the metal center of the arena, the screens on the edges began cycling through their many potential landscapes. On your left, an arctic desert, frozen earth and heavy snow which melted into a prairie, the grass as green as Zauber's cape, tall enough to tickle one's shins.

"Let the match begin!"

At Oobleck's words, a loud buzzer sounded and Zauber immediately produced a polished wooden wand seemingly from the air itself. He points it at your feet and says, "swoosh." A torrent of wind forms around your feet and grows until it's the size of a small tornado. It carries you up into the air and throws you into the snow. Barely managing to land on your feet, you hear Zauber utter another word.

"Burn."

Looking up, you see a blazing flame raging in your direction. Rolling to one side, you feel the heat of the flames pass by, melting a path in the snow and turning it to water.

"Splash."

The water gathers like a tidal wave and crashes down upon you. You try to fight your way out, but the water seems to flow and move with the sole intent of keeping you trapped inside. Like a giant hand, the water smashes you against the ground. You hear a painful 'ooh' from the audience. Coughing up some water, you get on your feet, your robes dripping. This was going to be one hell of a fight.

Duncan Zauber. The fan's favorite to win the knockout rounds, and not without reason. As skilled as you might be in hand to hand combat, no one had even so much as managed to land a hit on Zauber throughout the entire tournament. It wasn't because he was a good fighter. In fact, carefully studying his matches you would be surprised if his hand to hand was even a fraction of your own skill. No, his power, much like Goodwitch, lied in his semblance. All he had to do was say one word. One word and he could summon tornados and tidal waves out of thin air. His semblance was just like magic, and he dressed the part.

Rolling out of the way of another fireball you quickly unraveled Rhino's Charge and sent it flying his way. With a casual flick of his wrist and the spoken word 'boing', the large weight seemed to bounce off an invisible shield, leaving Zauber unharmed.

"Zap."

Thunder crackled threateningly overhead and a large lightning bolt rained from the heavens. Leaping out of the way, you landed in a crouched position several meters away, only to be caught in a large explosion which covered the sound of Zauber's voice saying 'boom.'

The explosion tossed you into the air, Rhino's Charge being flung from your hands.

"Boom. Boom. Boom."

The arena looked like it was being pounded by mortars as explosion after explosion swallowed you whole. Your robes were singed and torn as you struggled to catch your breath. Your aura was already halfway down, meanwhile Zauber was sitting at a comfortable 100%. Rolling out of the path of yet another fireball, you dove for your weapon.

"Yank."

Rhino's Charge suddenly slid across the ground, stopping a dozen feet out of range. You glared at Zauber who was wearing a confident smirk.

"Splash."

More water, encasing you and making it impossible to breath.

"Zap."

More lightning, the current amplified by your sopping wet robes.

"Boom."

Another explosion, sending debris flying in every direction.

Normally, you'd be able to dodge most of Zauber's attacks, but your soaking wet robes were weighing you down. Untying the cord, you removed the top of your outfit, dropping them to the ground. There came a thunderous roar of approval, mostly from the women in the crowd, as well as several wolf whistles. You paid them no mind, your attention focused solely on the task at hand.

"Boom."

Yang's POV:

I flinched as I watched (F/N) get swallowed by another cloud of dust, his body skidding across the ground. His opponent just wouldn't let up. As soon as (F/N) started to push himself up he was engulfed by water and then hit with lightning.

I was sweating, my nails digging into my palms as I watched through squinted eyes. I don't think I've ever seen (F/N) in so much trouble. As long as I've known him, he's never lost a fight. Even last semester, after being hit by a train and losing the use of his shoulder, he still managed to brush it off like it was nothing. But now? His aura was in the orange. A few more hits might finish him.

"Come on (F/N)." I heard Ruby whisper from next to me. "Get up."

"Don't worry Rubes." I say cheerfully. "(F/N)'s never lost a fight yet. He's not about to start now."

I don't know who I was trying to convince more. Maybe if I believed it enough myself, then (F/N) would somehow manage to pull through. It seemed unlikely though. He was at 25%, and Zauber hadn't been touched.

More smoke from another explosion followed by a large torrent of flames. The energy field stopped the flying debris from hitting the audience, but we could all feel the heat of the fire. I nervously glanced at the large screen.

(F/N) (L/N): 16/100

Duncan Zauber: 100/100

One more hit and (F/N) would be out. The sound of another explosion drew my attention back to the fight.

I can't help it. Before I can stop myself, I hear my voice screaming (F/N)'s name.

Reader's POV:

Yang's panicked scream reaches your ears.

"Sorry Yang." You mutter to yourself as your body glazes over (F/C).

"Boom."

Another explosion, larger than the rest. Dust and rubble fly through the air, obscuring the arena from view of the audience.

"And with that, it looks like Mr. (L/N) is out of the fight." Professor Port announces. "Which means, Mr. Zauber from Haven Academy is the winner of the knockout..."

"Wait." Oobleck interrupts. "What's this."

The dust settles to the ground and the arena slowly comes back into view. A collective gasp comes from the audience as they see (F/N) still standing, his body surrounding by a (F/C) glow which grows stronger with every second. His normally (E/C) eyes now burn a deep (F/C), his aura growing and growing, radiating pure power.

"It appears Mr. (L/N) is still on his feet."

You look ahead, Zauber's face locked in your view. You move one foot forward, then the next, slowly starting to walk forwards. He smirks.

"Boom."

The explosion has no effect, simply adding to your power as you absorb the energy behind it. The crowd is in shock, Oobleck and Port going crazy. Zauber looks a little uneasy to see you still standing.

"Boom." He says again.

He's panicked now.

"Zap!"

Lightning surges through your body, but you convert the static energy to kinetic energy, allowing you to absorb it and fuel your now flaring aura. Zauber starts to hastily step back, fear in his eyes.

"Boom! Zap! Boom! Burn! Burn! BURN!"

The fire, though hot as the sun, never touched you. The strength of your aura acting as a shield as the flames passed you by. Though your semblance wasn't as flashy as Zauber's, it was just as strong, if not stronger. Though you tended to use the energy in your body for offensive purposes, you could also use it to increase your defensive aura, which was exactly what you were doing right now.

You were sorry that you had to scare Yang like that, it wasn't your intention, but you knew it was the only way to beat Zauber. Having carefully studied his previous matches, you knew his arsenal before the match started, and had prepared by practicing converting different forms of energy so you could better absorb his attacks. In fact, the reason you had managed to last as long as you did was because every attack Zauber sent your way, half of the energy you had absorbed.

You knew Rhino's Charge would be essentially useless in this battle as Zauber could simply bounce it off himself with a single word, so you had elected to rely on your semblance. Your body now coursed with energy. In fact, you don't think you've ever worked your semblance so hard. You could feel it coursing through every inch of your body, making you stronger. You dug your back foot into the ground, kicking off with so much force that it shook the entirety of the arena.

And then it was over. Zauber was lying on the ground, his aura completely shattered. Sure, he could have deflected any attack, but he needed to have enough time to speak, and you had moved faster than even Ruby could, delivering a blow that could have shattered a tank in less than a nanosecond.

There was a stunned silence, and then the crowd erupted into cheers

"What a surprising turn of events! Mr. (L/N) defeated Zauber with a single blow! I don't think anyone saw this one coming. The winner, is (F/N) (L/N)!"