Through the streets of Mistral an air of unease permeated around everyone, people scurrying and hoping to be off the streets. No one knew why but there was an aura of foreboding in the city, that something horrible was about to happen.
Of course, the woman walking slowly with a midnight blue cloak and hood pulled down concealing her face didn't do anything to put the populace at ease, quite the opposite, in fact, she was at least part of the problem.
Not that she cared if her demeanour was anything to go by, she was okay being alone to whatever task she was on, though she stopped for a brief second glancing up at a billboard. A billboard of Pumpkin Pete's cereal, with the cereal being held up by a cheerful looking girl. Pyrrha Nikos, the champion of Mistral's regional tournament and face of quite a bit in Mistral.
The cloaked figure looked up at this billboard for a full five seconds before turning back to the ground. The chaos was about to ensue and if she was lucky. the one person she was here for would also make an appearance.
"First it was scorching, then it was calm. I felt at peace and at ease. But then a voice, as cold as the most north regions of Atlas whispered to me. The chill took hold of me and I couldn't fight it. The cold turned to bitterness and hatred until my other senses reawakened and my eyes opened to reveal my lord and master.
A voice that echoed in my skull with a chilling ease and the calousness of one without a heart
"All that I am, anger, cruelty, vengeance, I bestow upon you. You will bring forth the will of the Scourge, Death Knight." were the words that resounded in my mind and they were the words that guided my will.
Thus I began, my weapon would be forged and my steel would be tested all in his name."
The cloaked figure scowled under her cloak as a loud alarm began blaring, coming from the middle of the city. The noise was terrifying because everyone knew what it meant; it meant a Grimm attack was imminent.
Panic in the population went from subtle to overt in under a second as people began running for shelter. Yet instead of feeling dread, it looked as if the mysterious woman was feeling excited, what little of her face that could be seen from under the hood clearly wore a mouth that curled into a smile.
An explosion resounded on the walls behind her and the black and white coloured creatures that were the Grimm began pouring in.
The icy grin still evident, a sword was drawn, a short sword that glowed with a white mist around it, the blade in one fluid motion sliced through the first Grimm like warm butter.
"These lives, full of fear and desperation as my sword loomed over their bodies. Some cried, some begged, some tried in vain to fight me off. It didn't matter, the more blood that caked my blade the more my elation grew. Then there were theCrusaders whose mission it was to stop me, they came at me in droves but I butchered every single one of them. My shield would once have been drawn in aid of these hapless fools, yet now it is only my sword drawn to slay them in service of my king.
With the scores of ghouls and gargoyles at my back, mindless creatures ordered to serve me. Expendable undead creatures who existed to destroy at the leisure of their master and I led them with pride and fury. Onward we unleashed what would one day be called the Scarlet Harvest. For that is what it was. No battle, no war, not even a vicious skirmish. It was just the harvesting of flesh and souls for the master."
Fear and confusion were all in the air as Huntsmen and Huntresses, the brave souls whose job it was to protect the populace against these monsters, took to the field and began directing citizens towards the inner city where a safe zone was no doubt already being set up.
The Grimm, however, were being drawn oddly towards a very particular place in the city, the Huntsmen Academy of Haven.
As her weapon reamed and sliced the Grimm apart. the cloaked girl looked up to the tower of Haven and saw a black painted airship begin landing on top of the academy. A scowl emerged on her face. She had to move for her target was on the scene.
"The final assault was about to begin, the Light's Hope Chapel, the last bastion of the Holy and the Righteous in the Plaguelands. Our master wanted them wiped out. Ten thousand strong were the forces of the Scourge and three hundred were the forces of the Light.
Thus we marched. Courage and conviction seeped from the hearts of these men and woman, but it didn't matter for my blade would slice those hearts out with devilish motion.
One by one these men fell, I could already taste victory but then it happened. The ground quaked as yellow energy, pure and everything I despised rained down smiting the minions fighting. The power coiled around me and my strikes became slowed and my own body began to feel a burn. It was in that moment that I was brought to my knees in defeat.
It was a trick, we learned in that moment of weakness that we had been betrayed, sent to our death, we weren't champions to do what other servants could not, we were no better than the ghouls we commanded.
On that day a deep seeded hatred was planted in all of our hearts. The Knights of the Ebon Blade, once the sword of the Lich King, would now be the sword that would pierce his blackened heart. Retribution was our purpose and nothing else mattered as long as that tyrant stood."
Even from outside the tower explosions could be heard from within, a fire was arcing along the upper floors.
That fire, it was familiar to the woman now at the base of the tower. It was something that made her ache with hate and eyes burn with a desire for retribution. That's what she existed for after the Lich King betrayed her, however.
Huntsman and Huntresses were completely unaware of her presence, too busy with the oncoming beowolves and ursai. That was alright with her though, walking inside and making her way to an elevator that was still functioning.
As the elevator began moving upwards the girl took out her sword and ran her palm along the flat side, the Rune of Razorice glowed as she did so. The rune was one of the gifts of her former master. The power of ice, a chill of death and undoing, it would be her weapon against the Fall, the flames of the new beginnings.
The battles were long and hard, but for me and my skin, there was no need for rest or reprieve. We were the dead, our stamina was limitless and our thirst for vengeance only quelled any minuscule ache we might have fueled. Formonthsandmonthswe marched with the mortals of this world against the LichKing until finally, we challenged him atop the Frozen Spire before his very thrown.
If my previous battles had felt hopeless they were nothing by comparison. For even with the heroes of Azeroth at my back we felt so outclassed, it seemed as hopeless as could be until the one leading the charge channelled the light into one final blast. It was a last ditch effort but it worked.
With his cursed blade destroyed, the Lich King was defenceless and the sword I had made with his own magic pierced his armour.
Vengeance upon the one who had wronged me in death was acquired, my mind became clearer and a temporary peace took hold. But my nature would never be quelled and I knew the urge to fight would return."
On the top floor, two young hunters squared off with a single woman.
Ruby Rose in her red cloak and wielding her Scythe stood beside Jaune Arc, the white armour clad boy with his sword and shield in hand. Across from them Cinder Fall, the false maiden of Fall with a fire burning in her palm.
Without a word, Cinder sent a blast of fire, a stream of heated death towards these two hunters, neither of whom could even react in time to the widespread attack.
Jaune raised his shield covering his face in preparation for the attack but he didn't feel any heat. Glancing above his weapon he saw he and his friend had been surrounded by a violet dome that had blocked the attack.
The dome disappeared and as they did the cloaked woman walked calmly in front of the young Huntress and Huntsman.
"Hello, Cinder." The woman said coldly.
"And you would be?" Cinder asked curiously even as she readied another blast of fire.
Reaching up she unclipped the cloak from around her neck and pulled down her hood revealing a long mane of red hair and a face that if not for the blue glowing eyes would have seemed kind and beautiful.
"Your soul was taken from an entirely different planet, but you have no place there anymore" Darion had said to me, the Highlord of our order and myself were talking in the heart of the Ebon Hold.
"It doesn't matter, this is about me finishing what I started in life, with these powers I can save those I once held dear and get revenge on the one who ripped me from life," I responded. My cold voice was burning with determination. Cool hatred and scorching determination, as icy hot as the Rune of Razorice on my weapon.
"Very well," Darion said, thrusting his hand out and with a burst of shadowy power opened a purple death gate, a portal that would no doubt send me home. "Go forth Pyrrha Nikos!" "
"Pyrrha!" Ruby said incredulously almost ready to faint at the sight of her friend.
"Yes Ruby, it's me," Pyrrha responded her eyes never leaving Cinder as she pulled her sword from her belt and her shield from her back, both weapons glowing with their given runes of power. "Now Cinder... how about a rematch!"
Cinder had been struck with shock for the briefest moment but that moment had passed as her look of confusion was replaced with a small smirk, "You've returned to test fate? Very well, if I must kill you again then so be it."
"Even the seasonal maidens can fall prey to the most simple of threats to the living Cinder," Pyrrha said.
"And what would that be?" The would-be conqueror asked, even as she conjured a flame in her hand.
"Disease!" She said simply before thrusting her hand out and with a purple energy pulled the Fall Maiden into melee range and sliced her with a green glowing attack.
It was sickening, the attack going through aura and infecting her very blood with a plague that could be felt in the form of a withering stamina.
Just as the attack was unleashed so to was a fireball that exploded and sent the Death Knight flying backwards.
It was at this moment that Ruby and Jaune raised their weapons but before they could charge a deathly cold voice yelled at them. "No... She's mine!" Pyrrha said angrily. Suddenly, chains of pure ice wrapped around the legs and arms of her friends pulling them away from the fight. With the chains of ice summoned she returned to the fight almost completely unhindered sending bursts of shadowy magic and Cinder who blocked with her fire.
Closing into close range once again and taking a swing Pyrrha's sword was caught by Cinder, who tried crushing it like she had with her old sword Milo, but this time the runes that would be on the weapon glowed and the Razorice cut back against the heat.
Wham. Cinder doubled over, punched in the face with an inhuman fist and then consecutively kicked with a magic enhanced boot and slightly sliced with a sharpened heel.
And then.
Boom,
A burst of fire blasted forth from Cinder, knocking her attacker back with a sickening thud against the wall of the tower.
Pyrrha raised her hand into the air and as she did so in front of her an orb of energy appeared and blasted into the ground, leaving the ground between her and her target red and boiling with a deathly essence. The Death Knight ran into it unaffected, even emboldened by the spell and ready to strike once more.
Raising herself off the ground, the Fall Maiden prepared another blast but as she did so, something gripped her ankle. From below her, a rotted hand built of unnaturally formed flesh gripped her ankle and pulled her back down just in time for the blade of the creature's master came down on her chest.
Coming out of the ground, this abomination rose to its full 10 feet in height, built of what looked like a mesh pit of flesh and bone this creature stood above the now slumped over Cinder Fall and crushed her with its massive weight.
Then boom went the creature as it was burned by a huge burst of fire. Clearly, a show of strength to be afraid of were it not for the after reaction of Cinder keeling over ever so slightly and panting with exhaustion. The plaque in her blood taking a distinct toll on her body.
"What are you?" Cinder asked angrily as she got back to full height.
"What am I Cinder? Simple. I'm a shell of the girl I once was, and I'm here for my retribution!" Pyrrha responded with a glare born of the coldest ice on her face at the last bit of her statement.
"A shame you came back for nothing then!" Cinder said, before raising herself into the air and in one fluent motion summoned a massive stream of flame, something she hadn't summoned since her bout with Professor Ozpin.
Pyrrha got down on one knee in this before she was engulfed in fire.
"Pyrrha!" Jaune and Ruby yelled in almost complete unison, both struggling to break free of the chains to help their friend... a few tears forming as they both realised their friend might be gone for a second time, a truly horrifying thought.
It was a full 30 seconds before Cinder stopped with her flames a smile on her face. A smile that melted like ice before her own fire as she looked down at a green orb where her target had been kneeling disappear to reveal the death knight unharmed and her weapon glowing bright almost hurting her eyes to look at.
"Die!" Pyrrha said once more pulling Cinder into melee range and swinging her blade.
The fall maiden summoned her blades but this time the Runeblade was empowered with so much magic that the swords broke and sliced right into Cinder destroying her aura and sending her back with a long gash along her chest.
Smashing against a wall Cinder could do nothing at this point but fall to all fours and look down at the dripping blood from her wound.
There was a calmness in Pyrrha now as she casually walked towards her opponent. She knelt down in front of her and reached a hand forward.
"How does it feel Cinder? The hopelessness of knowing your life is coming to an end!" Pyrrha asked.
Cinder's golden eyes looked up at the person who had bested her and for the first time there was genuine fear as she croaked the words "Monster..."
"Indeed I am Cinder." And with that, she raised her other hand and in one swift motion, snapped the Fall Maiden's neck.
As she crumpled to the ground the auburn coloured energy of the maiden left Cinder and no evaporated no doubt seeking out its new host.
"Indeed I am." She mumbled again as she rose to her feet.
Having not forgotten about them, Pyrrha flicked her wrist and at once the chains holding Jaune and Ruby away from the fight disappeared.
"Pyrrha, wait!" Ruby said, dashing in front of her friend and looking up at the taller girl, her silver eyes meeting the glowing blue.
"It's good to see you again Ruby, and you too Jaune... but... I need to go!" Pyrrha said.
"What are you talking about?!" Ruby demanded indignantly. "You just came back from ashes, I saw you. But now you're here going all, hiya and kapow!" she said making several hand motions. "Of course you can stay."
"Ruby you don't understand... I'm not human anymore like I told Cinder, I'm just a shadow of my former self." the Death Knight said, shaking her head sadly
Neither Ruby or Jaune could say anything to this as Jaune glanced at the body of their enemy and then back at his old friend.
There was a moment of silence, Pyrrha moving her way to the window conjuring a spell of magic as she did so, a creature of bones materialising in front of her.
"So with all that new power you've got and you're just going to leave us?" Jaune said, an idea in mind hoping against all hope he was right about the methods of the girl.
"Cinder is dead!" Pyrrha responded simply.
"She was just a pawn!" Jaune retorted, "Well okay, maybe a knight or a rook or something but still she wasn't the king on this chess board, there's something else out there pulling her strings."
Pyrrha stopped just as she was about to get onto the back of the skeleton gryphon now flying outside the wall. She glanced back at her friends both looking at her hopefully. With just a second's hesitation, she nodded and smiled. "Then it seems my Runeblade will remain on Remnant for a while longer. Now come on, we have a Grimm attack to stop!"
Both Jaune and Pyrrha nodded as the two jumped onto the back of the gryphon and began flying down with their old friend. A friend that despite her new nature was still more than welcome back.
As the trio took to the ground level of Haven Academy, however, Ruby found herself feeling like she was being watched, an instinct that proved to be correct.
In an unknown region, the gryphon carrying the Huntress, Huntsman and Death Knight could be seen as a bright green hue hologram, and a red skinned creature with large wings protruding from his back glared down at this hologram.
"A planet connected to Azeroth, a gateway directly to that ever so resilient insect ridden rock and their ship set down permanently... set course for this Remnant!"
A/N - This was meant to be a one-shot with the best ending I could think of. Alas I hope you all enjoyed, if there's a demand I might continue this as a series.
Hope you all enjoyed