Finally! We get to start the Vytal festival and the tournament! I cannot wait to do this whole volume. Volume 3 was just jam-packed with so many awesome and memorable moments, and I can't wait to interpret them from DLTA's perspective. This will be a volume where you're most likely going to want to hold on to something as you read. I'll try my best to upload daily chapters but i'm not making any promises. I've got a busy work load currently in school and exams are coming up in a little over a month. So, I've got a lot of things in my hands. But no need to worry, you can count on me for content! Enjoy!

-Time Skip: 1 Week- -Point of View: Drake-

During the week, between finishing our extracurricular missions and prepping for the Vytal tournament, I made the decision to go and speak with Professor Ozpin. I figured it was my best and safest decision to let him know what happened. And, I felt like he may be the only one to know if I can fix it or not. I met him the day before the festival started. I entered into his office after gaining special permission from Glynda. I asked Glynda if me and Ozpin could speak in private and she thankfully obliged and left the two of us alone. "Tell me, Mr. Colburn... What is it that has brought you to my chambers?" Ozpin asked me as he gestured me to sit in front of his desk. I did and took a deep breath before telling him the truth. "Recently, when my team and team RWBY went on our extracurricular mission, something... happened. During the mission, Leena was captured by Torchwick and was taken hostage. When I ran into them... I don't know. My emotions just seemed to... well, overwhelm all my senses and I just lost control. And when that happened... this burning pain emerged in my body. The scars on my right arm turned black, my fingers were turning into claws, and when I was able to get a look at myself, my teeth had turned into fangs and my right eye was completely black in colour. I... I looked like a creature of Grimm, sir." I explained to Ozpin as he looked at me curiously. "I can't say I know what happened to you. It sounds pretty hard to believe that you started to turn into a Grimm. Has this happened other times before?" Ozpin asked me. "No sir. That was the first moment this ever happened to me. And, it did occur again when everyone was fighting off the Grimm in downtown Vale. Although, this time it wasn't as serious. My scars did turn black again but nothing else changed. I felt like I had a little more control over it." I explained as Ozpin went deep into thought. "Based on everything I can gather from the situation, it seems your rage was the cause of this... "transformation." Seeing one of your teammates in danger allowed your negative emotions to take over and somehow unlock this terrifying trait that you possess. And during the battle in Vale, while you this did happen again, my best assumption as to why you had more control is because you knew all of your friends were safe. So, my conclusion is that in order to keep from turning into this "figure," you must remain calm and control your emotions. If you were turning into a creature of Grimm, that may cause you to lash out in a fury, possibly bringing pain and loss to your friends. Stay close to them. They will help you." Ozpin said to me as I thanked him. "You and your team are some of Beacon's rising first year stars. I'd hate to see you lose it all because of this." Ozpin said to me as I nodded in agreement. "I thank you for your time, sir. I think i'll take my leave now. I've got a tournament to prepare for after all." I said as Ozpin nodded. I then got out of my chair and headed for the exit. Before I left, Ozpin began speaking to me again. "Drake... if you ever need help with something, even if it's just a small favor... please, do not hesitate to ask me. Now... get out there and represent Beacon academy." He said to me as I gave him a smile and a nod. I then left his office and headed back to my teams dorm room. 

-Time Skip: 1 Day-

"Welcome everyone to the Vytal Festival Tournament! Broadcast live from the Amity colosseum!" Professor Port announced as the tournament was finally kicking off. The Amity colosseum was a huge, floating arena, supported by a gigantic Dust crystal. The stadium was packed with both students from the four kingdoms and spectators from Vale. Me and my team were waiting for our time to enter as we were in the first match of the day. "If this is your first time watching, allow us to break down the rules of the tournament! Take it away, Professor Oobleck!" Port said as his co-announcer stepped in. "That's doctor. The tournament is divided into three distinctive rounds. Teams, doubles, and singles. Age and school year are irrelevant. In this tournament, the only only attribute being tested... is skill." Oobleck explained as Port stepped back in. "Correct. The winners of the team battles will elect two members to represent them in the doubles round. Followed by the winners of that round choosing one member to advance once again! The remaining combatants will then fight their way through the final bracket in the hope of achieving victory for their kingdom!" Port said as Oobleck jumped back in one last time. "And yes, Peter, these certainly are some spectacular spectacles on which to spectate on. And I don't think anyone tuning in around the world is going to disagree with me on that." Oobleck said. "Ah yes, and why would they? And now, let's get this tournament started! Meet our two teams for our opening team round!" Port shouted as the crowd began to go out of control, cheering so loud we could barely hear Professor Port now. "First up, some of my personal favourite students. Team DLTA!" Port announced as we made our way to the centre of the colosseum. We all waved to the crowd, excited to show off our teamwork and skills. "Although all members of this team are from their respected kingdoms and not Vale, they all enrolled into Beacon and will be representing the academy for this tournament!" Oobleck explained as everyone began to cheer even more. And then, our opponents were called into the arena. "And now their opponents! Representing the Mistral academy of Haven, team RZOR!" Port announced as the other team made their way to the centre of the stadium. The four of them stared us down, not taking their eyes off of us. We did the same, naturally. 

"Ryft Michaels, leader of RZOR, leads his second year squad into battle. How will Drake Colburn, leader of DLTA, respond? Let's find out everyone! It's time to set the battlefield conditions!" Port explained as screens appeared around the stadium. They began rotating through different symbols. Meanwhile, the outer portion of the stadium dropped off. The screens around us then stopped rotating. Appearing on my teams half of the battlefield, the symbol of sand appeared. And on RZOR's half, the symbol looked like a city. Then, rising up into the outer spaces of the stadium were the battlegrounds that were just selected. "Well, at least we somewhat have an advantage, seeing as me and Leena grew up in the sand." I thought to myself as I took my weapon out of its holster. My teammates did the same, and then so did RZOR. Each had a very unique weapon. Ryft was carrying sword that had a trigger near its grip. My best guess was that it transformed into a gun. The girl that was next to him had what looked like a small lance. The man next to her was carrying two small daggers which had rotating Dust dials. And lastly, the final man next to him had on what looked like a metal fist, which held several different Dust crystals on the knuckles. "Drake Colburn, Leena Myst, Temair Moonfist, and Amber Lisa of Beacon! Ryft Michaels, Zada Neels, Omar Trapston, and Rylie Monger of Haven! If both teams are ready, then let the opening round of this years Vytal Festival Tournament begin!" Professor Port shouted into his microphone as both of our teams charged each other. 

https://youtu.be/HpIPAApE8CQ

"Temair, get behind them! Leena, fall back and give covering fire! Amber, with me! We're gonna herd them!" I ordered my teammates as they all did as told. Temair used his semblance to leap over the enemy team, getting behind them and attacking. Leena ran back, climbing up a sand dune and taking a sniper position. And as for me, I quickly unloaded all the rounds in the cylinder I had in place. It was my explosive round bullets and I fired them at the ground, all in one spot. I quickly swapped cylinders to my Dust bullets and I began to open fire on the opposing team. Amber ran ahead of me, taking on two enemies at once. She was flailing her blades around using their chains and she was holding them off for the time being. Zada of team RZOR was turned around and she was fending off Temair as he was unloading rounds at them. My target was their leader, Ryft. I ran straight for him and he did the same, preparing to swing his large sword. I quickly transformed my weapon to its blade form and we clashed. Our blades were interlocked and we were glaring into each others eyes. "I'd say we're evenly matched... but you're forgetting something." I said as Ryft gave me a curious look. "And what might that be?" He asked me as I let out a small chuckle. "It's only taking three of us to hold off you and your team. Leena, let 'em have it!" I yelled out to her as she started firing. She wasn't directly aiming for Ryft but she managed to land a shot right next to his left foot. Ryft was taken off guard and I was able to push him back, making him lose balance. I then swiped my weapon at his legs, tripping him up and making him fall on his back. "Nice moves, but I've got some tricks up my sleeve too!" Ryft said to me as he opened his mouth up wide. He began screaming at me, so loud that I had to cover my ears. I found out quickly that this was his semblance, some sort of sonic screech. Ryft quickly got up and began walking over to me as I tried to focus and block out the noise. Ryft then hit the trigger on his sword. The blade split in two and appearing in the centre was a gun barrel. The swords grip changed as well so he could wield the weapon like a gun too. He began firing on me, but I tried my best to counter his attack. I hit a switch on the side of my weapon, and the centre blade on it split apart, revealing my own gun barrel. A trigger then appeared where my hand was gripping my weapon. I fired three ice Dust shots at the ground in front of me and I created a wall, shielding me from Ryft's shot, and somewhat reducing the sound of his semblance.

Temair and Amber were now fighting a three-on-two battle. While Temair held off the other three from a distance, Amber would close the gap and use close-range tactics to attack the enemy. However, as the three enemies were pinned down, Zada came up with a plan. "You two, cover me! I'm gonna take down that Faunus girl with one shot!" She said as her two teammates gave her covering fire. Amber stepped back a bit, using her blades to block the incoming shots. This left her open though and unable to defend against Zada's incoming attack. Zada hit a button on her lances grip that flipped open the end of her lance. She then fired a cannon ball from it, aimed right for Amber. "Amber, lose the weapons!" Temair yelled to her as she gave him a nod. Amber tossed her weapons aside and activated her semblance, her body glowing with a faint white outline.. She readied her left fist and collided it with the cannon ball. Amber was much stronger than the projectile and the force of her strike sent the cannon ball flying back to where it came from. It struck Zada right in the face and sent her flying backwards, landing next to the side of a broken building. "And Zada Neels is knocked out due to low aura levels! We're down to 4-on-3 now!" Oobleck announced as Zada laid in place, most likely unconscious. 

"Nice shot, Amber! Get your weapons back! We'll finish these two off next!" Temair yelled to her as Amber scrambled to pick up her blades. However, Omar and Rylie were having none of that. They continued to barrage Amber with bullets, coming close to hitting her a few times. "Don't have time to take them down one at a time. Gotta do it all at once!" Temair said as he changed him weapon to its axe form. He then loaded a full magazine of explosive Dust in his weapon, changing the blade tip to the colour orange. The end of the blade also started to smoke. Temair then used his semblance and jumped high into the air, restinge above Omar and Rylie. He then swung his axe over his head as he started to come back down to the ground. "Amber! Get out of the way! You're gonna get caught in the blast!" Temair yelled to her as Amber made a run for Drake, who was several metres away. Omar and Rylie kept up their attack though, still aimed at Amber, and not noticing Temair crashing down to them. When Temair was close enough, He swung his axe down, creating a huge explosion when his blade struck the floor of the stadium. The explosion engulfed both Omar and Rylie, sending them flying right out of the arena. "And a double knockout, scored by Temair Moonfist! Both Omar Trapston and Rylie Monger are eliminated! We're now down to a 4-on-1 people! And i'd hate to be captain Ryft Michaels right now!" Port announced as I continued to clash blades with Ryft. 

"My teammates may be down but i'm still not out! I'll take you all on and still win!" Ryft yelled to me as he started using his sonic screech again. I made another ice wall to block out the noise as Leena shot around Ryft's legs again. She was essentially forcing him in a specific direction and that was towards the centre of the arena. I jumped over my ice wall and I swung my weapon at Ryft. He did the same and we clashed again with a huge impact of sparks. Every time we would swing back and try to hit each other, we would both fire a projectile from our blades. I was now firing fire Dust shots while Ryft was firing electric Dust. I was burning Ryft while he was shocking me. His weapon carried more ammo though so he was able to stay on the offensive longer and push me back. When I ran out of bullets, I began to retreat. Ryft tried to follow me though, giving chase to me as Leena still tried to control his movements. As I was running, Ryft took aim at me and shot a Dust shot at my back, hitting me square on. The shock from it stopped me from moving and I tried my best to turn and face Ryft. I was able to but I was too slow at trying to counter him with my weapon. Ryft swung his sword at me as I tried to block, but he was easily able to knock my weapon out of my hands. My weapon slid a few metres away from me, way out of my reach. Ryft then swung his sword downward at me, trying to knock me out. I tried to be quick and I reached up and grabbed onto his swords grip. We were both using all of our strength to take control of this shoving match. "I know I already said this... we seem to be evenly matched... but you're still forgetting something. It's not just me you have to worry about now." I said as Ryft began to look around. On his left was Amber, pointing her two guns at him. And on Ryft's right was Temair, taking aim at him. And on top of that, Leena was aiming right at him using her semblance. "Face it, you're outgunned and outnumbered! Just give up!" I said as Ryft headbutted me in the face. I let go of his sword and fell to the ground. "No way! I don't care how many of you there are! I'm gonna win this match and claim victory for my kingdom!

Ryft then began to spin himself around while using his semblance, causing Amber and Temair to lower their guard and their weapons. Ryft was giving it his all, even though the match was already over. We had him exactly where we wanted him, in the centre of the stadium. Where he stood, my explosive Dust bullets were embedded into the floor. I didn't have my weapon to set them off but I didn't need it. All I needed was someone to blow them up for me. And I know just the person to pull off a shot like that. "Leena! Do it! End this fight!" I said as I quickly got up and made a run for it. Ryft stayed in place, not hearing me because of his semblance. Leena took aim with her weapon, again, going right for Ryft's feet. Using her semblance, she was able to zoom in her vision and easily target the explosive bullets. "Nighty-night! It's game over!" Leena yelled as she shot at the bullets. She managed to hit one of them, causing a chain-reaction that set them all off below Ryft. He was engulfed by the massive explosion that send him skyward. A huge smoke cloud was created from the explosion and we all waited patiently to see what had happened to our last opponent. And when the smoke cleared, the crowd waited silently in anticipation for the final call. The four of us saw Ryft laying on his back on the ground, not moving a single inch. "And Ryft Michaels is knocked out by aura depletion! Which means team DLTA has won the match and is moving on to the doubles round!" Port announced as the crowd cheered our team name loudly. We had won. It felt amazing, hearing the crowd chanting our names. The four of us then gathered together and we each raised one of our fists into the air, showing off our strength and teamwork. We felt on top of the world. However, we were quickly ordered to leave the arena as the next match would soon begin. I quickly grabbed my weapon and placed it in its holster before leaving. The four of us left together and decided we would stick around to watch the next few matches. When we exited the arena and headed through the battle gate, we passed by one of the teams who was up next. Team RWBY looked ready to go. "That was awesome guys! Way to go out there!" Ruby said as we both high-fived each other. "Thanks. Good luck out there in your match. We'll be cheering for you in the stands." I said as they waved us off before entering the arena. We then found some empty seats together and waited in anticipation for the next match to begin.